Is coronavirus the end of work-life balance?
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While some people have predicted that remote working will become the most popular form of working in future, no-one could have anticipated such a dramatic shift on such a small timescale.
That is according to accountancy consultants Theta Financial Reporting, which has commissioned national research, collecting responses from 2000 UK workers.
It investigated employees' relationships with work, their managers and their working hours to find:
- A third of Brits regularly exceed the EU’s maximum working limit, working more than 50 hours a week
- 39 per cent of Brits feel presenteeism reduces their productivity at work
- More than half (51 per cent) of all Brits believe that the decision-makers in their workplace are out of touch with the processes required to ensure their teams work efficiently and productively
- Nearly half (45 per cent) of all Brits believe work laptops and mobile phones mean they never truly switch off/and have answered emails in the early/late hours of the morning/evening
- 37% per cent of Britain's workers do not have time or motivation to chase promotions/professional development due to the sheer amount of work they have to do
- More than a quarter of Brits (26 per cent) feel that they have not received the required training to do their job efficiently
To help Brits to balance their work with their home-life, here are Theta Financial Reporting's top tips for working at home:
Take Breaks
It may seem counterintuitive when working from home, but proper breaks are essential to maintain focus and produce good-quality work.
Be transparent
This is a challenging time for all, most of all small business owners and managers, so keep in contact with them, check-in when you need to, and be as transparent as you can with your daily workload.
Know when to sign on and, most importantly, off
Working from home can blur the lines between work and family life, so know exactly when to sign on, but most importantly, sign off. Putting in 16-hour days may seem like what your boss wants, but it will only lead you to burn out, so know when to log off for the day.
Chris Biggs, managing director of Theta Financial Reporting, said: “Work-life balance, especially in the professional services sector, has a been a key issue for many workers in the recent past.
"Long working hours and constant access to phones and laptops has created a culture where employees are ‘always-on’ often to the detriment of their wellbeing and productivity. Working from home has blurred the lines of this balance even further – when there is, ostensibly, no difference between your work and your home environments, it becomes increasingly difficult to switch off.
"It’s important to put in proper working hours even at home – and for managers to allow for flexible working, especially for those looking after children at home. While sometimes working longer hours to get work done is necessary, this should not be the norm for employees.
"When employees are less productive, they are wasting their own time and inevitably, impacting their mental health and perception of work. This can have dire consequences for employees and the wider economy as people leave jobs more frequently and the talent pool shrinks. As we are overcoming challenges such as the coronavirus pandemic and later Brexit, we need to, as business leaders, learn the lessons from the report quickly to secure the next generation of professional service executives and keep them in employment and happy.”
