Stressed out workers won’t help the recovery

Jo Faragher

The optimism about the recovering economy, not to mention a much healthier jobs market, should be a cause to relax; perhaps even an opportunity to take the foot of the gas for a bit because there’s less pressure to perform.

But according to research from recruitment company Morgan McKinley, almost three quarters of UK professionals are still working longer than their contracted hours. And working all of this unpaid overtime is having a negative impact on their work-life balance.

One of the key reasons for this, according to Morgan McKinley, was that many staff felt under obligation to work more than they were contracted to.

This ‘presenteeism’ was an unfortunate feature of the recent recession, with employees often resorting to devious tactics to make it appear as though they were in the office when they weren’t, simply because bosses expected it of them.

Yet a number of research studies show the exact opposite – that staff feel more engaged and productive when they’re able to work according to their own timetable. (And Morgan McKinley’s research reinforced this).

So that might mean they’re still in the office at 7pm, but that’s because they took a two-hour gym break to reinvigorate themselves, not because they’ve been staring at a screensaver for the past 10 hours. Or taking a day at home to write a report so it’s finished a day earlier, rather than trying to fit it in around pointless meetings and phone calls.

When negotiating terms and conditions on behalf of candidates, increasingly recruiters will be discussing not only salary packages but what employers can do to enhance new recruits’ work-life balance.

Legislation now means any employee with enough service can ask to work flexibly, but how many businesses do this in practice? As candidates begin to look for available roles again, offering the right environment in which staff are trusted to be productive without being chained to their desks could be what makes that employer stand out from the others.

If this recovery is to be sustainable, we need motivated and productive workers, not stressed-out, burned-out shells, and employers who recognise this will reap the benefits.