Workers are more stressed, more under pressure and more worried about keeping their job than at any time since records more than 25 years ago, a damning study revealed yesterday.
The report, from the Government-backed UK Commission for Employment and Skills, lifts the lid on the ‘intensification’ of work hitting millions of people.
Starting in 1986, the poll has taken place every six years - and the latest findings for 2012, published yesterday, show workers have never had such a tough time.
It found a record 40 per cent of workers say they are required to work ‘at very high speeds’ for at least three-quarters ‘or more’ of their working life.
Nearly 60 per cent - another record high - said they ‘work under the pressure of tight deadlines’ for the vast majority of their working day.
And the fear of losing their job has never been higher. One in four workers are ‘afraid of losing their job and becoming unemployed’, which is higher than in any previous downturn.
More... Over 55? Then you should be smiling: People in that age group are happier than anyone else Obama urges black American males to stop blaming discrimination for personal failures as he opens up about his absent father How to get out of debt: Your ten-step plan to getting your finances back under controlThe report, which represents one of the most significant investigations into Britain’s working culture, says technology is largely to blame.
For example, a worker with a BlackBerry can be contacted by email or called at any time, whether or not they have just left the office, are on holiday, enjoying the weekend or asleep.
It warned ‘increased competitiveness brought on by the severity of the recession and rising levels of unemployment’ have also had an impact.
Frazzled: Nearly 60 per cent of workers say they ¿work under the pressure of tight deadlines¿ all dayIt said: ‘These may have changed the balance of power between employers and employees.’ The commission insisted ‘downsizing’, which is a fall in the staff numbers as a result of redundancies, is not a culprit, although it does fuel a ‘greater fear’ at work.
Professor Francis Green, from the Institute of Education, the author of the report, said: ‘New technologies enable employees to work more constantly, closing up the gaps in the working day, extending it to the journey home.’
He said workers can either ‘self-drive’ themselves or bosses can take advantage of the ‘new possibilities’, or a combination of the two.
Professor Cary Cooper, from the Lancaster University Management School, said technology has changed workers’ lives.
Switching off: Thanks to new technology workers feel as though the never properly leave the officeHe said: ‘People demand an immediate response. In the old days, you could divide up your work into piles.
‘A pile that need to be dealt with today, another pile that you could leave for a few days and another pile that you could leave for a few weeks. Now we are bombarded by emails.’
Frances O’Grady, general secretary of the Trades Union Congress, said: ‘The climate of fear that exists in far too many workplaces is stressful for staff and bad for the economy too.
‘Job insecurity and workload pressures often make people less productive and can push them out of work altogether through stress and ill-health.’
