Employees are the 21st century organisation’s
greatest asset - accountants are even adding human capital to the
balance sheet.
Poor work-life balance decreases productivity in the
following ways:
- Absenteeism:
- The CBI believes that absenteeism levels are the main reason
why UK productivity lags behind the US and some parts of Europe.
- Low output:
- Output per UK worker is nearly half that of US employees and
significantly lower than that of Germany and France.
- Long hours culture:
- Although there are high numbers of part-time workers in the
UK, there are also many people working very long hours.
- One
in three fathers in the UK works over the 48 hours a week
limit set by the European Working Time Directive.
- A TUC report found that one third of
fathers spent more than 50 hours a week in the office, compared
with a quarter of childless men and 1 in 20 childless women .
Good work-life balance increases productivity because:
- Individuals have time sovereignty:
- The degree of control an individual has over
their tasks has an impact on their effectiveness at work. This
is known as time
sovereignty.
Absenteeism
Absenteeism costs the UK £11.6bn a year, according to the
CBI. Better work-life policies make people healthier and happier
and so less likely to take time off work. The DTI found that policies
introduced had a 48% positive effect on absenteeism rates.
Good work-life balance policies take account of the
following:
- Long-term absence:
- 2.7 million people are on long-term sick leave, costing employers
£11bn.
- Long-term absence accounts for only 20% of reported cases
but takes up more than 40% of total working time lost
- Employers tend to focus on policies that reduce short-term
absence.
- The causes of stress:
- The incidence of stress has been shown to increase with work
intensification. Research commissioned by the Health
& Safety Executive has indicated that:
- About half a million people in the UK experience work-related
stress at a level they believe is making them ill,
- Up to 5 million people feel ‘very’ or ‘extremely’
stressed by their work, and
- Work-related stress costs society about £3.7bn
every year (at 1995-6 prices).
- Whilst risk assessments on physical health and safety are
frequently carried out, fewer employers have strategies for
dealing with the psychological aspects of stress. These can
be equally damaging to organisational objectives.
- The needs of different groups
- Eldercarers: workers who
look after elderly relatives can experience work interruptions
and may sometimes have to miss work. They can incur a financial
loss if they take unpaid time off, and may miss meetings and
lose out in terms of training and promotion opportunities.
- Parents: although parents
are now entitled to emergency
leave, they often feel torn between home and work responsibilities
whenever their child is ill or suffering other difficulties,
or when their childcare arrangements fail.
- Younger workers: this
group values work-life balance, with 52 per cent of undergraduates
hoping to achieve a good work-life balance within three years
after graduation (Universum Graduate Survey 2001). According
to the DTI (2002), twice as many employees would rather work
shorter hours than win the lottery.
- Older workers: among employed
people in their late 50s and early 60s, 78% said they would
like to work part-time in retirement (NOP survey for Help the
Aged 2002).
Where to next?
How to make a case
Jargon buster
Work-life balance legislation
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