Striking the balance - live to work or work to live
Professional and personal commitments are common dilemmas for many of today’s workers. Lean staff levels and rising workloads require longer hours on the job, making it difficult to juggle deadlines and dinner plans. Often presentations come ahead of trips to the gym and family vacations. Our research reveals, of all the potential benefits an employee looks for, flexible working was cited as the factor highest on their agenda.
The benefits of ‘work-life balance’
Almost a third (30%) of line managers believe that ‘work-life balance’ leads to a ‘happier work force’ and 20% believe that it leads to ‘less attrition / lower staff turnover’. We also asked ‘What downsides were exhibited in the work place?’. A large proportion (81%) of employers could see no downside to offering flexible working. However, the remainder believe it leads to inadequate cover, employee abuse and a poor work ethic.
Defining ‘work-life balance’
There are many interpretations of ‘work-life balance’ and we were eager to understand precisely what employers believe this entails. The majority (68%) define ‘work-life balance’ as ‘flexible working hours’, second came the ‘opportunity to work from home occasionally’ at 16%. Third came the ‘opportunity to work from home regularly’ at 5%. Given the definitions, 41% of our respondents told us that their employers did not do enough to address ‘work-life balance’ issues.
What is on offer from employers?
We also asked employers ‘What do you offer for flexible working?’ (we permitted multiple answers). The majority of employers (81%) told us they offered ‘flexible working hours’; 42% offered ‘time off for family commitments’ and 35% offered the ‘opportunity to work from home occasionally’. Under half (44%) of the accounting and finance professionals surveyed worked between 35 – 39 hours a week. Junior employees work the shortest hours, with 65% working on average between 35 – 39 hours a week. The senior level employees work the longest hours with over 34% working over 45 hours per week.
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