Vedior NV
28 October 2005
Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Global workforce abandons quest
for Work Life Balance
For release at 9.00am on 28 October 2005
Research published today by Vedior, one of the world's largest recruitment
companies shows that the global workforce has stopped striving for a healthier
work life balance, with less than a quarter of respondents putting their private
lives before work.
Vedior carried out an online survey of 1,000 employees from almost 30 countries
worldwide, from the UK to India, about whether they were happy with their work
life balance. The study revealed that while almost half of all employees
believe that they spend too much time at work, only a quarter of respondents
wished to address the issue. The research also produced some interesting
insights on work practices around the world.
• Nearly 50% of American employees felt that their professional life
takes up a considerable amount of time. Sadly however, only 19% of Americans
said that their private life is more important to them than work.
• Contrary to global trends, but in line with popular perception,
Australian workers are striving for a better quality of life; 45% would like
to create a greater balance.
• British workers remain disillusioned. Only 27% claimed to have a good
work life balance.
• In contrast, 40% of French employees said that they have achieved an
equilibrium.
• Indian workers seem to be the most diligent as only 12.5% said that
they would like to reduce the burden of their professional life.
Commenting on the report, Zach Miles, Chief Executive of Vedior, said: 'This
research provides an interesting insight into the psyche of the global
workforce. Not only are employees experiencing a reduced quality of life, they
appear to have little desire or inclination to change the situation. A poor
work life balance not only affects the lives of individual workers. It can,
over the longer term, lead to a down-turn in business performance. It is
therefore imperative that either employers seek a change in attitude before they
experience the fall-out of this trend or employees take more direct action to
improve their lot.'
For further information:
Clare Allison / Patrick Toyne-Sewell, Citigate Dewe Rogerson
Tel: +44 (0)20 7638 9571
John Nurthen, Vedior
Tel: +44 (0)1727 842999
Company Profile:
Vedior is one of the world's largest recruitment companies and is a full-service
recruitment provider with a diversified portfolio of brands targeting a broad
range of industry sectors. Annual sales for 2004 were €6,467 million.
From its global network of offices spanning Europe, North America, Australasia,
Asia, South America and Africa, Vedior offers temporary and permanent
recruitment as well as a number of complementary employment-related services
such as outplacement, HR outsourcing, payrolling and training.
Vedior has a leading market position in the provision of professional/executive
recruitment in sectors such as information technology, healthcare, accounting,
engineering and education. In order to meet client requirements for all
categories of personnel, we also have a significant global network providing
administrative/secretarial and light industrial recruitment.
Work Life Balance Research Results
The research was undertaken via an online poll at www.vedior.com.
Respondees were asked the question 'What do you think about the balance between your private and professional life?'
and provided with the following options:
My job permits me to have a good balance between my private and professional life Votes 287 (31.2%)
Votes per country
72 (25.1%) 64 (22.3%) 39 (13.6%) 29 (10.1%) 21 (7.3%) 9 (3.1%) 8 (2.8%) 6 (2.1%) 5
(1.7%) 4 (1.4%) 3 (1%) 3 (1%) 3 (1%) 2 (0.7%) 2 (0.7%) 2 (0.7%) 2 (0.7%) 1 (0.3%)
1 (0.3%) 1 (0.3%) 1 (0.3%) 1 (0.3%) 1 (0.3%) 1 (0.3%) 1 (0.3%) 1 (0.3%) 1 (0.3%)
1 (0.3%) 1 (0.3%) 1 (0.3%)
My professional life takes up a considerable amount of time, but this does not give me cause for concern Votes 171
(18.6%)
Votes per country
38 (22.2%) 31 (18.1%) 26 (15.2%) 22 (12.9%) 14 (8.2%) 6 (3.5%) 5 (2.9%) 4 (2.3%) 3
(1.8%) 3 (1.8%) 2 (1.2%) 2 (1.2%) 2 (1.2%) 1 (0.6%) 1 (0.6%) 1 (0.6%) 1 (0.6%) 1
(0.6%) 1 (0.6%) 1 (0.6%) 1 (0.6%) 1 (0.6%) 1 (0.6%) 1 (0.6%) 1 (0.6%) 1 (0.6%)
My professional life takes up a considerable amount of time and I would like to change this Votes 254 (27.6%)
Votes per country
66 (26%) 57 (22.4%) 46 (18.1%) 16 (6.3%) 13 (5.1%) 10 (3.9%) 5 (2%) 4 (1.6%) 4
(1.6%) 3 (1.2%) 2 (0.8%) 2 (0.8%) 2 (0.8%) 2 (0.8%) 2 (0.8%) 2 (0.8%) 2 (0.8%) 2
(0.8%) 2 (0.8%) 2 (0.8%) 1 (0.4%) 1 (0.4%) 1 (0.4%) 1 (0.4%) 1 (0.4%) 1 (0.4%) 1
(0.4%) 1 (0.4%) 1 (0.4%)
My private life is most important to me, but this does not affect my work Votes 124 (13.5%)
Votes per country
39 (31.5%) 21 (16.9%) 20 (16.1%) 16 (12.9%) 12 (9.7%) 3 (2.4%) 2 (1.6%) 2 (1.6%) 1
(0.8%) 1 (0.8%) 1 (0.8%) 1 (0.8%) 1 (0.8%) 1 (0.8%) 1 (0.8%) 1 (0.8%) 1 (0.8%)
My private life is the most important for me, this can affect my work Votes 85 (9.2%)
Votes per country
19 (22.4%) 15 (17.6%) 14 (16.5%) 9 (10.6%) 7 (8.2%) 2 (2.4%) 2 (2.4%) 2 (2.4%) 2
(2.4%) 1 (1.2%) 1 (1.2%) 1 (1.2%) 1 (1.2%) 1 (1.2%) 1 (1.2%) 1 (1.2%) 1 (1.2%) 1
(1.2%)
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
