A new report shows that the average working week for women has increased by
three and half hours to its current level of 33.9. The average working week
for all workers stands at 39.6 hours, slightly up on figures for 1998. It also
shows that the proportion of those who work more than forty eight hours a week
has increased from 1 in 10 to 1 in 4 during the past 5 years.
The report, Living to Work, from the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development
(CIPD), compares the results with the corresponding 1998 survey and concludes
that the impact of the Government’s campaign on work-life balance has
had little or no effect to date. The only crumb of comfort for the Government
lies in the fact that almost 1 in 4 employees have cut back their hours in the
past 5 years, although the biggest single factor behind this reduction is parenthood.
The report also argues that working time is ill-suited to legislative control
given that so little attention is paid to the working time regulations, which
provide an opt-out clause for those working more than 48 hours.
Mike Emmott, CIPD Head of Employee Relations says, "There is little support
from the survey for arguments that the current option for employees to opt out
from the 48 hour week should be removed. Half of those who work long hours say
they do so entirely as a result of their own choice. They are just as satisfied
as other people with their lives inside and outside work. More than half are
either managers or professionals who should be well placed to exercise informed
choices about their hours.
"Some employers are asking staff to sign an opt-out clause simply in order
to take the issue of long hours off the table and avoid the possible need for
record keeping, even though employees rarely or never work more than 48 hours
for long periods. It would therefore be disastrous to remove the opt-out at
a stroke."
On the broader points raised in the report Emmott comments, "The overall
trend in working hours among female workers is upwards. This is not however
necessarily bad news. Relatively few of those working long hours are women.
If efforts to secure equal treatment for women at work are to bear fruit we
can expect to see their experience of work and working patterns aligned more
closely with those of men. More women are now returning to work after having
babies and having the opportunity to build careers. They also enjoy a strong
position in the job market.
The increasing number of female long hours workers is not surprising given
that a higher proportion of them are managers and professionals, who tend to
work the longest hours. As the service sector continues to grow and male-dominated
sectors such as manufacturing, mining and agriculture continue to decline, this
trend looks set to continue."
Emmott continues, "The negative effects of working long hours are increasingly
recognised. Most long hours workers report some kind of negative effect on job
performance, one in four report damaging effects on their mental health in terms
of stress or depression and many claim that long hours have put their relationships
and health under strain. Clearly there can be important downsides to working
consistently long hours and employers and employees both need to be aware of
them.
"The new right to request flexible working will undoubtedly help employees
to achieve the balance between home and work that best suits their circumstances
and needs."