Return of ‘airpocalypse’: Beijing’s expats flee smog

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After five years in Beijing, Hannah Sanders and her husband Ben, both employed at Harrow School International in the Chinese capital, will be packing their bags in July and heading back to the UK.

“We had originally planned on staying six years. But pollution tipped the balance” said the 34 year-old mother of two children including a newborn baby. “I don’t feel it’s safe for our two-year-old to play outside. The pollution limits what we can do as a family.”

While no official statistics exist, or Chinese government officials are unwilling to share them, sources including companies, schools, embassies and HR consulting firms all confirm the same thing: though China is increasingly important for the bottom line of international firms, Beijing is rapidly losing its charm for foreign employees.

The American Chamber of Commerce published the results of its annual ‘China Business Climate’ survey earlier in March. One question asked ‘Have you or your organisation experienced any difficulties in recruiting or retaining senior executives to work in China because of air quality issues?’ Responses from the organisation’s 365 members underline a trend, 48% replied yes in 2014 versus 34% in 2013 and 19% in 2008.

Although there is little published data, companies in many sectors report managers at all levels trying to escape the pollution. They're asking to be relocated. Last July saw an increasing number of expat families wave goodbye. Comments on online forums for Beijing parents suggest the exodus started in June.

As a result, recruiters say foreign enterprises are having increasing difficulty attracting top talent to The Middle Kingdom as many refuse to move, citing Beijing’s worsening air quality.

“Beijing has been dropping a couple of points every year as a city professionals are looking to relocate to”, said Angie Eagan, Managing director for MRCI, a recruitment firm specialised in hiring professionals in Asia.

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continued: http://www.bbc.com/capital/story/201403 ... om-beijing