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Managers 'working too long'

Managers are supporting a union campaign against the UK’s long-hours culture. The move comes after research shows that senior staff put in around 40 extra days a year to cope with their workload.

A survey of 1,500 managers reveals that efforts to reduce hours in recent years had failed. Nine out of 10 of those questioned regularly work over their contracted hours.

The average manager works an extra one hour 18 minutes every day, mainly to meet deadlines or because of pressure of work, according to the study by the Chartered Management Institute. Almost half of those surveyed said the UK’s long-hours culture affected their productivity and most said it prevented them having enough exercise.

Jo Causon, corporate affairs director at the Chartered Management Institute, said: “Many organisations focus on the cost of absence to their organisations, yet are not addressing the root causes of absenteeism.

“Surely, in today’s results-driven environment, output is more important than input, so two questions need to be answered - why are employers ignoring the impact of long hours on the health and performance of their employees and what responsibility are employees taking for how they manage themselves?”

The institute said the report had been issued in support of the TUC’s campaign for people to work their proper hours.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .