As the UK Government looks to shake-up workers’ rights, a new survey by YouGov for Purbeck Insurance Services has found that work is intruding on home life for the vast majority of people. This is particularly true for those aged 25-49 (an age group more likely to have young families) and women who were found to spend marginally more time working in their personal time than men. Worryingly one in 10 people habitually forego some of their annual leave each year, risking burnout.
The survey revealed:
- Eighty percent of people have worked beyond their contractual hours. Half of those surveyed stated this has happened many times and those aged 25-49 were most likely to put the extra hours in (84%) while 18-24 year olds were least likely (64%). Only 12% of those surveyed have never worked over their agreed hours.
- Sixty-eight percent have looked at emails outside of their contractual hours. This is a frequent occurrence for 39% of those surveyed and again, 25-49-year-olds check emails more than any other age group (75%).
- Women are a little more likely to work beyond their contractual hours (82%) than men (77%) and to look at work emails outside of their usual working hours (70% versus 67% for men).
- Half of those surveyed have changed or cancelled a day off due to a work matter. Again this is more true of women (52%) than men (49%).
- Thirty-seven percent have not taken all of their allocated annual leave. For 18% this has happened a few times, but more than one in 10 people (13%) have failed to take all of their annual leave many times. People living in Scotland are least likely to take their full holiday allowance (45%) and more common among men (40%) and those aged 50-64 (42%).
- Seventy-nine percent support giving workers the right not to be contacted by their employer outside of their working hours, with 49% strongly supporting this. Just 13% oppose the right and this was more likely to be in the 65+ age group (19%). Women (83%) more than men (75%) were most likely to support the right to ‘switch off’.
Purbeck Insurance Services, a provider of personal guarantee insurance to small business owners and directors, commissioned the survey in response to the Labour Government’s ‘Make Work Pay’ which includes the right to switch off.
Todd Davison, MD of Purbeck Insurance Services said: “Our survey underlines just how much the day job is encroaching on personal time, particularly for the women in the survey. If workers are not getting adequate time away from being at or thinking about work, burnout beckons.
“Unfortunately, switching off just isn’t an option for small business owners and directors who shoulder a huge amount of responsibility, not least the financial responsibility of taking a business loan. However, there is clearly a need for businesses of all sizes to get a grasp on work being done by employees outside of business hours, to address this and to encourage people to take their full annual leave. Flexible working is one thing but free labour is not sustainable for individuals, businesses or the economy.”