Managing the work-life balance has become more difficult, with younger generations and parents hit hardest, according to EY who surveyed 9,700 adults aged between 18 and 67 in full time employment across a variety of companies in the UK, US, India, Japan, China, Germany, Mexico and Brazil.
The key findings:
- Work-life balance is harder worldwide. Approximately half (46%) of managers globally are working more than 40-hour weeks, and four in 10 say their hours have increased over the past five years.
- Why people are quitting their jobs. The top five reasons people quit their jobs are: minimal wage growth, lack of opportunity to advance, excessive overtime hours, a work environment that does not encourage teamwork and a boss that doesn’t allow them to work flexibly.
- People want flexibility. Being able to work flexibly and still be on track for promotion is important.
- Managing work and family responsibilities for millennials is proving difficult. Millennials (78%) are almost twice as likely to have a spouse/partner working at least full-time than Boomers (47%). Consequently, “Finding time for me” is the most prevalent challenge faced by millennial parents who are managers in the US (76%) followed by “getting enough sleep” and “managing personal and professional life” (67%).
