M02 MARK TBR ELEGLB 9737 U02 indd unit 2 •• Work and leisure business brief 20 B U S IN ES S B R IEF unit 2 •• Work and leisure It has never been easy to balance work and leisure During the late 20th.
unit •• Work and leisure business brief It has never been easy to balance work and leisure During the late 20th century, the concept of a job for life was largely replaced by short-term or fixed-term contracts Recent economic upheavals have made many workers feel that their job security is less secure Some find themselves with too much free time on their hands when company restructures lead to redundancies BUSINESS BRIEF Despite these challenges, workforce values in the 21st century seem to be shifting Employees are less willing to trade all other aspects of life for purely professional or financial gains Work– life balance has become a new goal for many The average length of the European working week is decreasing, from 40.5 hours in 1991 to 37.5 hours in 2010 Self-employed workers in Europe can expect to work longer hours, with 42 per cent working more than 48 hours a week Similarly, longer hours are more usual in manufacturing (with 20 per cent of the workforce working more than 48 hours a week) than in service industries (where 15 per cent work more than 48 hours a week).* New technologies have proved a double-edged sword E-mail, laptops and smartphones have intensified the pace of work and allow people to be contacted anywhere at any time However, they have also allowed employers and employees to explore different ways of working Teleworking seems like a natural application of modern technology It can help to balance employment with domestic commitments and allow greater time for leisure activities by cutting down on the time spent commuting Some flexible working practices, such as flexitime or parttime work, have also become well established Some people choose to downshift by moving to a less demanding job or decreasing hours and pay, in order to enjoy a less pressurised lifestyle and to improve their quality of life Work remains an integral and, for most of us, essential part of our everyday life We are arguably armed with more tools and opportunities than ever before to share the time we give to work and the time we give to ourselves and family Yet getting that balance right remains a difficult task Read on *http://www.eurofound.europa.eu/pubdocs/2010/74/en/3/EF1074EN.pdf A report on European working conditions carried out by the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/dcp171766_258996.pdf Details of a survey from the Office of National Statistics about the balance between work and leisure http://www.businesslink.gov.uk/bdotg/action/layer?topicId=1074409708 Meet the need for work–life balance, a series of documents exploring issues connected to work– life balance from the perspective of employers and employees Ian Sanders: Juggle, Rethink work, Reclaim your life, Capstone, 2009 20 M02_MARK_TBR_ELEGLB_9737_U02.indd 20 23/10/2012 10:45