Brits are not 'workaholics' as survey destroys the myth

A new survey of 500 people about the best way for people to manage their own career by Begbies Traynor found that only 19% admitted that they ‘live to work’. The other 81% acknowledged that they ‘work to live’. This finding was based on interviews with employees representing organizations across the private, public and not-for-profit sectors.

Despite this, 98% of respondents said that it was important to them to be seen to be good at their jobs. But when it came to opinions about how hard their colleagues were working, 30% of respondents claimed that one in four of their colleagues were ‘serving time’ in their jobs, rather than climbing the career ladder.
Almost half (45%) thought they should try at least three different sorts of job before they could identify the career they would most like to continue. Eighty-two percent of respondents also felt that having worked for more than one organization made their contributions more valuable to their current employers. Thirty-seven percent of respondents had worked for between three and five employers in full-time work, and 28% said they had been employed by up to eight different organizations.

In terms of ideal length of time in a particular role, almost a third (30%) said it was three to four years, although 16% said more than five years was ideal. Younger age groups displayed their itchy feet by indicating that they believe that it is best to stay in a role for no longer two years. By contrast older workers feel it advisable to remain for at least three.

When asked to name the most important benefits that employers receive from employees remaining in a job for a decent length of time, 69% said ‘experience’, 54% ‘detailed job knowledge’ and 41% ‘efficiency’.

Twenty seven percent of women feel that their organization places emphasis on the ‘novelty value’ of newer members of staff at the expense of longer serving individuals, a view not shared so strongly by male respondents.

Employers should note that a staggering 97% of respondents claimed that if they became stale or demotivated in their job they would leave of their own accord. However, almost a quarter (24%) said that at least once in their careers they had overstayed their welcome in a job.

Nick Hood, senior London partner at Begbies Traynor, said:

“As business rescue experts, one of the fundamental problems we often encounter is how badly the workforce is performing, and that depends on how well they are trained, rewarded and inspired by their bosses.

“It’s a hunch, but we suspect that if we had run our survey in the powerhouse 1980s, rather more people would claim to live to work than today. That said, employers will take heart from the importance people put on being good at their jobs and that they take it upon themselves to find a new job if they no longer have job satisfaction.”