Striking the right weekly work balance

Bosses and their staff need a flexible attitude if employees are to get their wish to reduce working hours and increase their activities away from the workplace, experts say.

The Australian Work and Life Index 2010 finds workers would prefer to clock on for a 35-hour week instead of the traditional 38-hour week.

It reveals workers would be prepared to sacrifice the three hours of pay in order to arrive later or go home early, or to work a day less each fortnight so they can attend to their social and recreational lifestyle.

University of South Australia Centre for Work + Life research fellow Dr Natalie Skinner says it supports the trend that workers value time over money.

“It’s three-quarters of a full-time day that people want to take off their week. I think that’s pretty substantial,” she says.

“It’s quite a drop down in their hours because these people, especially men, now are working 40 to 45 hours a week.

“For most people, that would mean a change in income, depending on what sort of job they’re in.”

The main exception is part-time workers, who want to work more hours each week, she says.

The index found Generation Y staff aged 20 to 29 years now work an average 35.7 hours a week, preferring 35.4 hours. Generation X workers, aged 30 to 44 years, would also prefer to work 35.4 hours each week, almost four hours less than their current average of 39.3 hours.

Baby boomers aged 45 to 64 years were the most likely to work a 38-hour week but preferred 34.6 hours at the workplace.

Australian Institute for Social Research executive director Dr John Spoehr says there is a strong desire among workers to spend more time away from the workplace to spend time with family.

Dr Spoehr, a University of Adelaide associate professor, says good employers are distinguishing themselves as providing flexible workplaces by offering a nine-day fortnight, which equates to a 36-hour working week.

The increasingly competitive labour market will help more workers with their wish for less time at the office, as employers are looking for ways they can be more attractive among employees and overcome skill shortages, he says.

“Ultimately we can see this as part of an enterprise bargaining agreement, part of an overall salary package which may not affect take-home pay but there may be some other trade-off,” he says.

“Some benefit (to the employer) is that they become known as a family-friendly workplace and can use that as a marketing advantage in the attraction and recruitment of staff. I think that will be increasingly important.”

He says 35 hours a week is not such a significant change from the traditional nine-to-five week to significantly affect most workplaces but it does make a big difference to many workers.

“If they have got the flexibility in how they take that off, it can mean they are able to leave a little earlier or come a little later and they could be available to deal with childcare responsibilities and picking up kids from school,” he says.

“All these things become a bit easier when you start to think about more flexible ways to allow people to use more working time.

“The rigid working hours nine-to-five are not very family-friendly in the 21st century.”

HR Development at Work principal consultant Bridget Hogg says a 35-hour working week is “definitely” achievable because if employees want their work to fit around their life, employers will have to be more flexible.

But she says many employees will have to accept a reduction in pay if they want to drop their hours.

“It may not be noticeable to some people but I also think people need to think about being paid by the hour,” she says.

“Some are paid by results and there’s that argument if they are still producing the same and prioritising more effectively, they may not need to take a drop in salary.”

She also says employers will offer fewer hours each week to attract and retain quality staff.

But companies in some fields may need to hire more staff to cover for lost working hours to achieve the same results, especially as most workers feel overworked already. “I think it would be a good thing all round,” she says.

“People want to prioritise their lives over their work and they anticipate skill shortages and difficulties in attracting and retaining talent.”

Maloney Field Services director of valuation Andrea Carolan already works 32 to 35 hours a week, or the equivalent of 80 per cent of a full-time load.

The mother-of-four says flexibility is important for the valuation and land access consulting company, at which the managing director works four days a week and administration staff also work flexible hours that suit them.

“I generally work five days a week, typically starting work around 10am and finishing around 4.30pm or 5pm, although my schedule varies every week,” she says.

“This allows me the time to get my younger children organised in the morning and ready for school or day care, and has me back in time to tend to my family after school hours.

“I think it’s important businesses provide an environment that allows their staff to achieve their desired level of work/life balance.”

She finds 35 hours is the maximum she can spend at the office each week.

“It comes down to having great team of staff at your business that can pool together to ensure high-quality work is completed on time for our clients, regardless of who is in the office at the time,” she says.