Overworked UK staff are losing touch with their home lives ⁰

Over half of all UK workers’ home lives are negatively affected by work, with one in five admitting they’ve missed important milestones in their children’s lives. According to a survey of 2,000 people in the UK, commissioned by Coople, 51 percent admit that their current workloads are affecting their lives at home. They are missing kids’ birthdays and other important milestones like school plays, parents’ evenings and award ceremonies because of work. The research claims that poor work-life balance has been detrimental to parents’ relationships with their children, with 11 percent saying working late and not ‘switching off’ has distanced them from their young ones. Most worryingly, 28 percent of those that admitted to missing important events have done so more than five times during their working life, 10 percent say they have missed their child’s event once, 26 percent say they have done so twice, 29 percent three times, and 7 percent admit they’ve done so four times.

One in five (20 percent) parents say their work schedule has made them miss an important moment in their child’s life, such as a birthday party (8 percent) or an important school event (12 percent). And of those that admit to missing an important milestone for their child, 28 percent say they’ve done so more than FIVE times

Jacques de la Bouillerie, MD of Coople, commented: “This research has highlighted some concerning issues within the British working lifestyle, and it’s sad to see that people are missing their kids’ birthdays and important life events as a result of rigid work arrangements. These are once-in-a-lifetime occasions, so companies should be doing their best to make sure their staff are getting sufficient time off to spend with their family, friends and partners”.

De la Bouillerie continues: “It really highlights the detrimental effects of employment without flexibility. I believe there is a strong link between companies that emphasise an excellent work-life balance, and their staffs’ productivity, happiness and loyalty in the workplace.

“Hopefully this research will serve as a wake up call to businesses across the UK to recognise and prioritise the importance of their staffs’ personal wellbeing, and to put the right structures in place to create a better work-life balance”.