Employees working in finance are working longer hours than ever, according to new research.
The survey, which covered almost 2,000 finance professionals, was compiled by the recruitment firm Robert Half Finance and Accounting and the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA), and found that more than a quarter of finance professionals are working longer hours than two years ago.
However, results also indicated that more than 80% are currently pleased with their salary and benefits packages.
In addition, a quarter said that an option to use flexible working hours would be an ‘extremely important’ part of a remuneration package. However, only 37% of these are currently given the option by their employer.
“Working too many hours ultimately undermines a teams’ productivity and can lead to higher turnover among finance staff,” warned Phil Sheridan, the managing director of Robert Half Finance and Accounting.
“As a result, businesses risk losing good people. Today’s finance professionals are looking for flexible working arrangements and may look for career opportunities elsewhere to achieve greater work/life balance.”
Rick Sturge, director of employer and strategic development at CIMA, commented:
“Work/life balance is becoming increasingly important for today’s professionals, and it is obvious that employers need to adjust their benefits packages to respond to this trend.”
Other benefits that were rated highly by respondents were extra holidays (14%) and working from home (14%).
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