It's a fact. The renowned laid-back work culture in Britain is turning. The UK is heading into a downward spiral of workaholism and longer working hours, according to studies carried out by a leading British university.
The only way to counter this new trend is through the introduction of flexible working hours, according to a survey by UMIST Manchester School of Management.
The key findings in UMIST’s annual survey serve to underpin results in last week’s Accountancy Age/Reed Accountancy Personnel Big Question survey.
Big Question survey discovered that 80% of finance directors said they worked too hard, claiming that market forces increased pressure to work longer hours.
The Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales will be hosting its sixth annual conference called, Workplace 21st Century, tomorrow in London. UMIST’s discoveries, among issues such as rigid working practices, the growing number of ‘carers’ and the increasing drive towards consultancy work careers, will be discussed at the institute’s conference tomorrow.
Manchester School of Management’s professor of organisational psychology and health, Cary Cooper, who will be a speaker at Workplace 21st Century, said: ‘Large sections of the UK’s work force are suffering from the adverse effects of a work culture increasingly characterised by stress and long hours.
‘Flexible working arrangements for employees, for example, allowing people to work partly from home and partly from the office can do much to alleviate these problems. “Unless a greater balance is struck between work and home life, the health not just of employees but the economy as a whole will suffer.’