Workers Working Longer Each Week Compared to 2008, finds Right Management Survey

 A poll conducted by Right Management, a division of ManpowerGroup, has found that employees are working longer hours than they were five years ago, with two-thirds of workers spending “a great deal” longer at work. As workloads, work hours, and budget tightening continue to drive disengagement among employees, successful engagement strategies are becoming recognized as a primary source of creating a sustainable competitive advantage.

“Leaders need to have courageous conversations with their employees to ensure better alignment between the work their people are doing and the company’s overall strategic objectives,” advised Matt Norquist, General Manager of Right Management’s northeast region.

Norquist continued, “…leaders need to connect the intensity of workloads with dialogue that aligns the work with individual employees’ ambitions, and the organizations’ broader strategic objectives.”

When asked “Do employees in your organization work longer than five years ago?” poll respondents, including 325 employees, answered: “Yes, a great deal” (67 percent), “Yes, somewhat” (10 percent), and “not really” (23 percent). Other data have indicated that workers also rarely leave their desks for lunch, answer work emails from home, and are not taking vacation time. Work leftover after layoffs is also typically shared by remaining employees without the prospect of hiring on replacement workers.