Employee respondents in the UK believe their employers fail to support them in striking a balance between work and their personal life, according to research by global management consultancy Hay Group.
The research, which was compiled using data from Hay Group’s global employee opinion database comprising more than 600,000 UK employees, found almost two-fifths (39%) of employees feel that their professional and domestic lives are not in equilibrium.
The research also found that:
- Only half (51%) of respondents perceive that their employer is sensitive to the relationship between work and home, a 6% drop from the 2012 survey.
- Last year, just half (50%) of employees reported that there were enough people available in their department to complete the work required, falling 3% since 2011.
- As a result, almost a third (31%) of employees do not think the amount of work expected of them is reasonable.
- More than a quarter (27%) of employees in organisations across the world that do not support a positive work-life balance plan to leave in the next two years.
- However, just 17% of employees in organisations that support staff in achieving a reasonable balance are looking ofr opportunities elsewhere.
Mark Royal, senior principal at Hay Group Insight (pictured), said: “UK employees are working longer hours with busier schedules than ever before.
“Introducing tactics such as telecommuting or flexible working do help improve engagement and commitment to stay with an employer, but will not be enough to successfully address mounting concerns about workload and poor work-life balance.
“Organisations must develop solutions to enable their workforce, and think strategically about which key roles need to be supplemented from the outside.
“Employers which don’t support work-life balance should prepare to see their high-performing and high-potential employees either burn out or walk out.”
The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), after having evaluated changing work trends in the 21st century is of the opinion that a “radical rethink” is required in our definition of work culture and in our approach to work itself. The discrepancy between modern lifestyles and the existing mindsets that still cling to twentieth century conventions is what needs to be redressed. The EHRC believes that the success of the UK economy depends upon whether or not employers are willing to adapt to the changing social scenario. If Britain has to compete with the world’s strongest economies, it needs to retain talent and be able to offer the highest levels of service 24 hours a day. However the traditional forms of office work are falling well short of these standards as people are finding it extremely difficult to balance work pressures and family commitments. As a result, many of them, especially women are dropping out of the workforce leading to a shortage of skill and talent which is sure to have negative implications for the UK economy. The only way to get the talent back to the workforce is to acknowledge the changing circumstances and introduce a new and fresh approach to work. For more on the factors that have made flexible working the need of the hour, please read my blog post http://blog.arise.com/uk/clients/why-has-it-become-so-important-for-companies-to-adopt-flexible-working/