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I think this all comes down to what they call the work-life balance and
this is going to vary from person to person as we're all individuals.
There are however a couple of things I'd like to point out that I came
across recently:
Here in the UK we (apparently) work the longest hours in Europe. A
recent report (don't have ref to hand) also showed that we have the
largest (I think!) number of sick days taken per year. Frightening thing
about it was that a large proportion of these weren't 'traditional'
illnesses but stress related.
Productivity has increased dramatically over the last 20 years with the
introduction of technology etc. Initially we were told that we'd all
have more leisure time but it doesn't seem to have worked out that way
:-) In many ways we not work harder and longer than our parents did!
A year ago (maybe two now) I read about a London company (high-flying
finance if I recall correctly) that followed the traditional route for
such companies - long hours, big bonuses etc. The owner married, had a
child and decided he wanted to spend more time with his family while the
child was young. Easy as he owned the company but, to be fair, he
re-jigged the company working practices so that everyone could avail
themselves of this if they wanted - flexible working etc. The company
became essentially a 9-5 company (and 10-6 etc as it was flexible!).
Hours worked went down but productivity went up because he had a
'happier' staff. Basically what he found was that getting the balance
right not only benefited the staff but also the company.
Damien Braniff
Sr. Technical Writer
damienb -at- asg -dot- com
Waterfront Plaza
8, Lagan Bank Road
Belfast, N. Ireland BT1 3LR
Tel: +44 (0) 28.9072.3124
Fax: +44 (0) 28.9072.3324
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