Life is a strain and work to blame
By Workplace Issues Reporter MARIA MOSCARITOLO 28jul03
OUR jobs take away family time, interfere with our sex lives and make us tired and irritable, a new survey reveals.
More than half of all [Australian] workers feel their jobs make unreasonable demands on their personal life - even if it is only occasional - and they want the Federal Government to help alleviate the strain.
Most would like taxpayer funded maternity leave, paternity leave and childcare and more flexible hours, the Job Futures/Saulwick Employee Sentiment Survey of 1000 people says.
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[Excerpts from the report itself ---]
JOBfutures/SAULWICK EMPLOYEE SENTIMENT SURVEY No. 9: July 2003
Just on a quarter (26%) of the workforce would like to work fewer hours (previously 23%) - but this is still more the case among full-time and white-collar workers than among part-time, casual or blue-collar workers.
As in previous surveys, a large minority of casual workers in particular (this time 27% (previously 36% and 31%) would like to work more hours and so, to a lesser extent, would part-time (still 22%, previously 24%) and blue-collar workers (now 20%, previously23% and18%). This still probably reflects their interest in earning more money.
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-From previous surveys we have established that nearly half the full-time workforce (44% in the previously survey and 47% before that) say they work unpaid overtime each week, and that the average amount of unpaid overtime worked is about 7.5 hours. This survey confirms these estimates. Again we find that 44% of full the full time workforce work unpaid overtime and that the average unpaid overtime for all people in the workforce is 7.6 hours. The average for full time people is 8.5 hours, for white collar workers is 7.7 hours and for men is 8.2 hours.
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Stress levels in the workforce, although easing slightly in the previous two quarters, remain high. Forty-one per cent of the total workforce (previously 39%, 40% and 43%) report high stress levels at work, and 47% (previously 44%, 44% and 45%) of white collar workers and 47% (previously 45%, 44% and 45%) of full time workers report high stress levels at work.
We again repeat what we said in previous reports: "This continues to raise questions about the connection between the working lives and the health and well-being of a significant minority of the Australian workforce."
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A majority of workers say their job unreasonably interferes with the amount of time they can give to their families, leaves them too tired to go out, and unreasonably reduces the amount of time they can devote to work around the house.
Only a little more than a quarter, however, say it reduces their interest in sex.
Women and full time workers are generally more likely to say that their work impinges on their personal lives in one or other of these ways.
While men are more likely than women to say their work unreasonably interferes with the time they can give to family and friends, women are more likely to say it makes them too tired to go out, makes them irritable, reduces their interest in sex, prevents them from taking part in community activities, and unreasonably reduces the amount of time they can devote to work around the house.
http://www.jobfutures.org.au/news.asp?action=deliverAttachment&itemID=13