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.”
Contact us today to discuss about your employees.
