Work-life Balance Concerns Linked to Employee Turnover

Rising Work-life Balance Concerns Linked to Employee Turnover Across the Globe, New Hay Group Research Reveals

Auckland - April 30, 2013 — More than one in four employees (27 per cent) at organisations that do not support the concept of work-life balance plan to leave their companies within the next two years, according to new research from Hay Group, the global management consulting firm.

Interestingly, the research found that only 17 per cent of staff at companies that ranked in the top quarter in support of their employees achieving work-life balance felt the same way.

In New Zealand, an increase in staff turnover can have major consequences for the company’s bottom line. For an organisation with 1000 employees, a 10 per cent reduction in turnover over two years would result in savings of $2.1 million*.

According to the Hay Group research, work-life balance concerns are on the rise globally, with 39 per cent of employees indicating that they did not have a “good balance” between work and personal life, compared to only 32 per cent in 2011. Concerns also persist about the number of workers available to complete the tasks required, with the majority of employees (52 per cent) reporting that there are not enough people to do the work in their area.

In New Zealand and Australia, the research reveals 41 per cent of employees feel a lack of support from their organisation in achieving a balance between work life and personal life, an increase of 8 per cent since 2009. It also highlights similar concerns surrounding insufficient resources with 49 per cent of employees across the ANZ region stating there is not enough staff to complete the required workload of their department.  This lack of resources has resulted in a spike in the amount of work needing to be done with 31 per cent of employees indicating the level of work expected of them by their organisation is unreasonable. 

Steve Ewin, Head of Insight, Hay Group Pacific, said, “Hay Group data shows that organisations across the globe continue to ask their employees to ‘do more with less’, leading to increasing dissatisfaction with work-life balance”.

“Tactical solutions like telecommuting options or flexible work schedules will not be enough to successfully address these mounting concerns. Organisations must also focus on long-term solutions to work-life balance issues by helping employees work more productively and identifying opportunities to begin rebuilding their workforces. By providing enabling work environments and additional people resources, organisations can help employees accomplish work tasks as efficiently as possible, leaving more time to attend to personal responsibilities and garnering higher levels of organisational loyalty.”

Hay Group Insight’s global research also found that employees who perceived work-life balance support from their organisations reported greater confidence in their companies’ ability to recruit top talent and more satisfaction with their compensation. Specifically, perceived support for work-live balance led to:

·         Increased confidence in ability to recruit top talent: When employees were asked about “the ability of the company to attract high quality employees,” 71 per cent of those from leading organisations for work-life balance provided ratings of “good” or “very good,” compared to only 45 percent of employees in laggard organisations for work-life balance.

·         Higher satisfaction with compensation: Among leading organisations for work-life balance, 58 per cent of employees agreed with the statement “I believe I am paid fairly for the work I do.” That’s compared to only 36 per cent of employees in organisations ranked in the bottom quarter for work-life balance.

“Employees are working longer hours with more erratic schedules than ever before,” said Ewin. “To address work-life balance issues and lessen the workloads of top employees, organisations need to develop fundamental solutions to enable their current workforces and think strategically about which key roles need to be supplemented from the outside.  Those that don’t may see their high performing and high potential employees either burn out or walk out.”

Other major findings from Hay Group Insight’s global research include:

Central America ranks highest in work-life balance

According to Hay Group Insight’s 2012 data, organisations in Central America ranked the highest in work-life balance, with 70 per cent of employees saying their organisations support them in achieving a reasonable balance between work and personal life.

North America followed close behind with 65 per cent, followed by Eastern Asia (63 per cent), Latin America and the Caribbean (63 per cent) and Southern Asia (62 per cent).

European work-life balance perceptions are mixed

Employee perceptions of company support for work-life balance are mixed across Europe. In Western Europe, only 44 per cent of employees said their organisations support them in achieving a reasonable work-life balance, an 11 per cent drop from 2011. That’s compared to 56 per cent of employees in Eastern Europe who said their organisations support them in achieving work-life balance.

More specifically in Spain, 56 per cent of employees said their companies support work-life balance, compared to only 50 per cent of employees in Germany and 41 per cent in France. The United Kingdom fell in the middle with 51 per cent of employees reporting support when it comes to work-life balance.

Africa and the Middle East Report bleak perceptions of work-life balance

Work-life balance perceptions ranked the lowest in Africa and the Middle East, Hay Group Insight data found.

In Africa, only 44 per cent of employees perceived work-life balance support from their companies. Southern Africa ranked the lowest among the regions with only 43 per cent of employees perceiving work-life balance support from their company, a nine per cent decrease from 2011.

Similarly, in the Middle East, only 52 per cent of employees felt support from their organisations around work-life balance.

* This figure is based on the median weekly income for those receiving income from wages and salaries of $806 ($41,912 yearly income) and an average replacement cost of 50 per cent of the salary. (Source: Statistics New Zealand)

ENDS

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