Downturn hits work-life balance

Workers are spending more time in the office and less at home since the start of the economic downturn, partly because of under-staffing and fears over job security, a new study has shown.

The poll of 3,000 workers revealed that more than a third had seen a negative impact on their work-life balance in recent years.

Tough decisions made by businesses during the downturn were to blame for the deterioration, said the report commissioned by the Cornwall Development Company.

Employees said they had extra responsibilities, worked in under-staffed offices, put in longer hours to earn money or feared for their job if they did not spend more time at work.

Four out of five UK workers said a good work-life balance had a positive impact on productivity and a business’s ability to attract and retain staff, while almost a third stressed the importance of flexible working hours.

Suzanne Bond, chief executive of the Cornwall Development Company, said: “The value of work-life balance has been thrown into the spotlight by economists and politicians with the government’s plans to measure the nation’s happiness. This report firmly underlines the business case for a good work-life balance.”

Alexandra Beauregard, a lecturer in employment relations and organisational behaviour at the London School of Economics, said: “During tough economic times, organisations may think of work-life balance as a luxury they can do without. This is a short-sighted perspective.

“Maintaining a motivated and productive workforce is more important than ever in an economic downturn. Individuals working for a supportive organisation reciprocate with increased effort, initiative and loyalty – they go the extra mile. Those who feel overworked and undervalued will do the work necessary to keep their jobs, but will jump ship as soon as a better option presents itself.”

Meanwhile, a new report published last Wednesday shows more people were placed into jobs by recruitment agencies last month, but the increase was said to be “subdued”.

The Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) said the rate of expansion was the slowest for eight months, adding that the most sought-after staff were in engineering and construction and IT.

The weakest demand for workers was in the hospitality and healthcare sectors.

Kevin Green, chief executive of the REC, said: “These figures show that the jobs market is continuing to perform well despite general weakness in the UK economy.

“We have now had two years of continuous growth and employers are still continuing to hire staff, albeit not in the numbers needed to radically reduce unemployment.

“Employment is just one per cent off its pre-recession peak but the economy is still struggling at four per cent down in comparison with 2007/2008 figures.

The UK’s flexible labour market is a key reason why employment is continuing to grow. “Employers are using large numbers of temporary workers which, with the Agency Workers Regulations less than two months away from implementation, shows that businesses continue to see the value of using a flexible workforce.”

A Department for Work and Pensions spokesman said: “We are seeing some encouraging signs in the labour market, particularly with the continued rise in private sector employment. However, we do not underestimate the scale of the challenge that we face to help people into employment.

“The government is committed to support the economy and encourage businesses to invest and create jobs.

The new Work Programme is now up and running and will offer jobseekers flexible support tailored to their needs to help them into employment.”