Nearly two thirds of employees are now satisfied with their levels of work/life balance, compared with just over half in 2001.
These are the latest findings from a data drawn from ORC International’s database ORC Perspectives, which represents the opinions of some 1.4 million employees.
Key findings include:
- 60% of employees are satisfied with the amount of work they are expected to do, compared to 55% in 2001
- 50% of employees believe they are given enough time to do their job effectively, compared to 44% in 2001
- 57% of employees are able to do their job without working excessive hours compared to 55% in 2001
Of the findings Kate Pritchard, ORC International’s employee research manager commented: “Our data is certainly encouraging as it indicates that an increasing number of employees are more easily able to combine work with their home responsibilities and interests.
“This is hardly surprising, given that the issue has been high on the business agenda recently, partly because of the 2003 Employment Act which contained a range of measures designed to improve work/life balance. However, with 4 million UK employees reported as working more than 48 hours a week there are still clearly further advances to be made”.
Yet despite this evidence, research from Lloyds TSB and Working Families shows that just over half of respondents in their survey (54%) admit they fear confronting their employer over the issues of work/life balance.
According to their research, men feel less comfortable talking to their boss about changing their working pattern than women, with 61% of males compared to 50% of females admitting they would find it difficult to broach the subject.
Fiona Cannon, head of equality and diversity at Lloyds TSB, said of the findings: “It’s rather telling that people don’t feel they can discuss it with their boss. Perhaps one of our career resolutions should be to develop a better relationship with the boss so that we can discuss our true career needs.”
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