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Half of British workers keen to cut hours for better work-family balance Almost half of British employees (45 per cent) want to work fewer hours and more than two million people (one in 10 employees) would give up pay for a better work-family balance, according to a Trades Union Congress analysis of official figures published recently. “Most people enjoy their jobs most of the time, but nearly half would like to work fewer hours. Worryingly, more than two million are so desperate to downshift that they would give up pay in return for a better work-life balance,” said TUC General Secretary Brendan Barber in a news release. Two occupations who would like to downshift are the education and the financial services sectors. In both nearly one in six employees (14 per cent) want to reduce their hours even if it means giving up pay. Hotels and restaurant staff are the least likely to want fewer hours or give up pay for more time off – possibly reflecting the large numbers of part-time and low-paid jobs in hospitality. The figures come from a TUC analysis of the Labour Force Survey, the British government’s authoritative regular survey of all aspect of working life which interviews 60,000. To see a detailed breakdown by 49 occupations, please see: http://www.tuc.org.uk/extras/wyphd06downshift.pdf |
