Public Servant Lifestyle

A third of Brits would be happy to work fewer hours and earn less.

More than one third of overworked Brits want to reduce the length of their average working week at their current hourly wage, according to research. The report shows that 36% of men and 40% of women in full-time employment would prefer to work fewer hours and accept the associated reduction in earnings, while under 10% would prefer to increase their working hours.

The research, by the Institute for Social and Economic Research (ISER) at the University of Essex, shows that some employees are able to adjust their working hours over time. Men and women who wish to reduce their working hours are 7% more likely to experience a subsequent fall in their weekly hours than similar men and women who are satisfied with their hours. This probability is increased to 10% if they also change jobs. But the evidence suggests that it is still very much the case that employees can increase their working hours more easily than they can reduce them.

Unemployment

Employees actually prefer to increase their working hours when local unemployment rates are high, which suggests that work effort increases in response to job insecurity, fear of redundancy and a lack of alternative employment opportunities, says the survey.

Dr Mark Taylor, co-author of the study, commented: "Although a large proportion of employees in Britain work more hours than they wish, there does appear to be some flexibility that allows hours to be adjusted. But some jobs are more rigid in their hours, which may be caused by employer preferences, technology or industrial relations. What is more, the costs of changing jobs mean that some people persistently work more hours than they would prefer."

PSP Ltd is not responsible for the contents of external websites.

More information available in Work Life Balance, Family & Personal, Work Environment