Public Servant Lifestyle

Road accidents, medical mishaps and a near-miss release of dangerous chemicals are among the mistakes made by tired workers, according to a new report.

The mistakes are featured in the 24-7 survey report - an annual look at working habits, conducted by the Work Life Balance Centre and Keele University. They feature in a list of errors committed by overworked employees, which also includes legal mistakes, confidential material being sent out by email, workers losing their temper with colleagues, important information being incorrectly deleted from files, mismanagement of staff, and safety procedures being breached.

As Julie Hurst, director of the Work Life Balance Centre, explains: "In previous surveys, people have shied away from disclosing such errors, but this year they were amazingly honest. The list of mistakes makes very chilling and depressing reading, and each of them has been caused by someone too tired to carry out their job properly. The idea of allowing this sort of thing to go unchecked does not bear thinking about. It is in everyone's best interests to try to find ways of dealing with the problems caused by overworking."

Some of the other findings of the survey show:

· Work related Illness has reached record levels, with two thirds of people seeking help for their medical problems. The most common symptoms are irritability, fatigue, a lack of concentration and sleeplessness.

· Despite all of these problems, more than 60% of workers enjoy the challenges of their job. Women feel slightly more positively towards work, than do men.

· Less than a third of employees actually work their contracted or expected hours, with most working longer.

· More than a quarter of respondents (28%) say work leaves them too tired for sex. This proportion is higher in the English north east (37%), and the south west (36%), but lower in Wales (21%).

· Nine out of 10 bosses are sympathetic to requests for time off, or the re-scheduling of work around caring or family responsibilities.

· Just under half (47%) of people say they go to work, even when they feel ill.

· The number of people identifying work as their sole source of stress has decreased from seven in 10, to less than half. A third of people find both home and work equally stressful.

Dr Wendy Richards, Lecturer in Industrial Relations at Keele University, says: "There have been improvements, in that the rate of increase in workload seems to be slowing down, and fewer people identified work as their sole source of stress, but we still have such a long way to go. More than a quarter of people still feel they will have to change jobs if things do not improve."

The option to work at home on occasion, or to vary the start and finish time of the working day are the most prevalent forms of support provided by employers. When employees are asked what they feel would make the most improvement in their working lives, clear objectives, targets and deadlines, and being able to complete workloads within the working day are all very desirable options. Around one in 10 of respondents report no Work-life Balance support being available to them at all.

Says Julie Hurst: "While some employers cite cost as a reason not to go forward with Work-life Balance support, the true cost of not doing so is much higher, as the errors show. Also, many of the solutions put forward by employees in terms of improved business practices, enhanced communication and better workload organisation would cost very little to implement.

"My experience in working with organisations to solve these problems is that there is a lot of untapped goodwill towards work. It is an important part of people's lives. When people in the organisation work together to solve these kinds of issues, it is amazing what can be achieved. Creating de-stressed, focussed employees that feel in control of what they need to do is in the best interests of everyone."

More information available in Work Environment