Time-Poor Workers Find Work/Life Balance Problematic

A Scottish Widows report has found that people find it difficult to maintain a healthy work/life balance in the face of long working days and significant commutes.

53% of younger workers aged 18-24 year olds feel that their lives are currently skewed towards work.

Employees

Working hours appear to be a contributing factor as the report suggests that employees spend more than 10 hours each day at work (or getting to and from it) while spending less than 3 hours a day with their loved ones.

Parents of children under the age of 18 are especially concerned about their failure to achieve a healthy balance between work and family.

Some of their concerns were:

• 51% of parents feel they are missing out on seeing their children grow up
• 41% say that work commitments force them to let their family down on planned activities
• 48% state they don’t have time to prepare or eat meals with their family.

Employers

Employees are looking to their employers to do more to help them achieve a better work/life balance.

60% of workers want to see their employers offer flexible working hours, while 47% want the flexibility to work from home.

The report also found:

• 21% of employees would accept lower pay if they were able to work fewer hours
• 58% of employers would offer employees the same level of support, regardless of family circumstances
• 26% of employees said that their employer offers them the level of support.

There is a growing understanding among businesses that technology and flexible working patterns can help achieve greater productivity and efficiencies in the workplace while also allowing employees to achieve a better balance between work and their personal life.

With this in mind, the business standards company (BSI) has announced a The Smart Working Code of Practice which aims to create modern workplaces that support more flexibility and collaboration to give employees a better work/life balance.

The code of practice is intended for use by organisations of all sizes and in all sectors.

Scott Steedman, director of standards at BSI, said:

“Smart working is about harnessing the potential of flexible working in a strategic way, to deliver benefits both for the business and for employees.

“Employing effective practices is a key goal for all businesses, and smart working is not restricted to one sector, it is applicable to all businesses regardless of size or sector.”