Flexible Work Arrangements are Coveted

Why employers should support their employees who are caregivers

One-third of employees have reported that managing work-life balance has become more difficult. With employees working longer hours, flexible schedules could allow for a less stressful life and a more pleasant work experience.

In a recent study by EY, a global accounting services firm, full-time employees between the ages of 18 and 67 answered a series of questions about work challenges. The goal was to “understand what employees seek in a job, why they quit, why they stay and how this differs by generation.” The survey polled about 9,700 workers across companies in the U.S., U.K., India, Japan, China, Germany, Mexico and Brazil.

The findings indicate that work-life balance is becoming harder to achieve in each of these countries. Respondents in Germany and Japan reported the most difficulties in managing work, family and personal responsibilities, and China reported the least amount of challenges. Globally, 46% of polled managers are working more than 40 hours per week. Additionally, four in 10 report working more hours compared with five years ago.

An increase in hours could be leading to increased requests for flexible schedules.

Increases in hours make it especially hard when moving into management positions and starting families. When comparing age groups, more younger generation respondents are seeing their hours inflate. Among Millennials, 47% indicated an increase in hours, while 38% of Generation X and 28% of Baby boomers worked more hours.

On top of working more hours, 78% of Millennials have a spouse or partner who is also working full time or longer. Compared with the 47% of Baby boomers who have a working spouse, Millennials could be having a harder time getting household problems solved or making sure children are taken care of. There often aren’t enough hours in the day to get everything done, especially if both partners are working full time. Naturally,having longer work days makes balancing work and life more difficult.

When asked about what’s important in a potential job, respondents listed competitive pay and benefits, then “being able to work flexibly and still be on track for promotion.” These flexible perks include “receiving paid parental leave and not working excessive overtime,” according to EY.

This study also reports reasons for people quitting their jobs, which might make managers’ ears perk up. The top five reasons listed 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 flexible work.