Insights
BlueSteps Work-Life Balance Report - July 2014
This report discovered that while modern senior-level executives are working more hours and in more locations now than in the past, over half (52%) are satisfied or very satisfied with their work-life balance. Global executives work an average of 58.5 hours per week, with 39% working over 60 hours per week. In comparison, four years ago, 55% of senior-level executives did not believe their current work-life balance was satisfactory.
The 2014 BlueSteps Work-Life Balance survey was conducted in April 2014 to July 2014 and received 571 responses from senior-level executives across the world.
The purpose of this survey was to gauge the attitudes and thoughts among global executives regarding the quality of their professional and personal lives, and how that quality may or may not have changed in meeting the challenges of working in 2014 thus far.
The survey results discovered that while modern senior-level executives are working more hours and in more locations now than in the past, over half (52%) are satisfied or very satisfied with their work-life balance. Global executives work an average of 58.5 hours per week, with 39% working over 60 hours per week. In comparison, four years ago, 55% of senior-level executives did not believe their current work-life balance was satisfactory.
Globalization and technology’s impact on the work environment have forced executives to find a way to integrate their work and personal responsibilities, which brought about the trend of work-life integration over the last decade. In order to achieve a beneficial work-life balance through work-life integration, executives are placing the highest value on flexible work schedules and telecommuting as the most valuable non-financial employer benefits. The majority (81%) of executives consider work-life balance when deciding on whether or not to accept a new position.
Peter Felix, AESC & BlueSteps President, commented: “The results of our most recent work-life balance study are encouraging. Senior executives are clearly working out how to balance the extreme demands that globalization and 24/7 accessibility can make upon them. Technology, while creating this accessibility, has also provided a form of liberation from the traditional work place environments and the constraints on personal freedom that they can create. With generational changes, corporations are also learning that they must make adjustments to the demands that they place on their senior executives and other members of staff. The financial services world is currently publicly making such adjustments to the working lives of their interns and young recruits. Working smarter rather than harder makes real sense in the hugely different world of management that we all experience today.”