Research by professional services firm Ernst and Young, found just over a third of UK managers work more than 40 hours a week, compared to nearly 60 per cent in the US.
The typical working day is getting longer as a result of the 24-hour business cycle, as well as technology continually blurring the lines been work life and home life.
“There really isn’t any downtime any longer where people could sign off for the day and be done,” Karyn Twaronite, head of diversity and inclusion efforts for EY, said.
“You can be done for the day but it will be morning in China and you need to be responsive to that.”
Nevertheless, employers are trying to take steps to deal with this. More are starting to offer options such as working from home, variable hours or flexible office space.
