About half of all managers work more than 40 hours a week, according to a new survey from tax and consulting firm EY, and 39% report that their hours have increased in the past five years. Little wonder, then, that one-third of workers say it’s getting more difficult to balance work and life.
The survey, which fielded opinions from 9,699 full-time employees in eight countries, raises some questions about the sustainability of the current pace of work, said Karyn Twaronite, who heads up diversity and inclusion efforts for EY and commissioned the study.
Employees report that their responsibilities at work have increased while wages have largely stayed flat. And while technologies like company-provided smartphones and remote-work software have bought workers some flexibility, they also keep “people tied to work seven days a week,” Ms. Twaronite noted.
Fifty-eight percent of managers in the U.S. report working more than 40 hours a week, surpassed only by managers in Mexico, where 61% say they’re working those hours. By comparison, just over a third of U.K. managers and under a fifth of managers in China report working beyond 40 hours.
The reported shift in working hours appears to hit parents particularly hard. Some 41% of managers who have kids say they’ve seen their hours increase in the last five years, as compared to 37% of managers who do not have children. Working women and parents also rated the task of managing their work and personal lives as slightly more difficult than men and those without children, but respondents of both genders and all generations reported that they’re feeling the crunch.
What’s making it so hard to navigate career and family? Participants blame flat salaries and rising expenses, along with the increased workload. Managers in the U.S. say they have a hard time getting enough sleep, finding time for themselves and handling more responsibility.
That finding suggests corporate leaders need to think more about employees’ well-being, Ms. Twaronite said.
“There really isn’t any downtime any longer where people could sign off for the day and be done,” she said. “You can be done for the day but it will be morning in China and you need to be responsive to that.”
Some companies tout flexible scheduling–letting workers leave early or take off Fridays, for example—as one remedy. But some U.S. workers say flex arrangements are an imperfect solution. Some 9% said that they have “suffered a negative consequence as a result of having a flexible work schedule,” such as being passed over for a promotion or losing a job.