Spread Thin Britain - Stress Taking its Toll on Finance Workers

LONDON, ENGLAND, August 27, 2012 (Press-News.org) Nearly one in five (18%) of professionals in the finance and accountancy sector have admitted making a mistake at work because of tiredness or stress, according to Randstad, the UK sector specialist recruiter.

- Finance and accountancy employees fit 6.5 days worth of work into working week
- Nearly half of employees in the sector feel they are working harder than a year ago
- One in five finance workers admit making a mistake at work because of tiredness or stress
- Tougher financial targets and increased responsibility having biggest impact on workloads

In a survey of over 2,000 British employees, Randstad found that the average British finance worker feels they currently have to perform the job of 1.3 people meaning they are covering 30% more work than one person should be; the equivalent of fitting an additional one and a half days worth of work into the ordinary working week. This increased workload is taking its toll on employees' productivity and causing some to make mistakes.

The feelings of the finance sector mirror the national picture with the average British worker also feeling they cover the equivalent workload of 1.3 people. Those in the legal sector feel the most under pressure with lawyers feeling they cover the workload of 1.6 people (60% more than they should be responsible for) - the equivalent of 3 additional work days per week.

While over a quarter (28%) of finance professionals feel their workload is suitable for one person, two in five (43%) feel that in an ideal world their role would need one full time and one part-time member of staff. 14% believe their role needs two full-time people to manage the level of work and one in fifty (2%) feel their role really needs at least two full-time members of staff as well as an additional one part-time person (Chart 1).

Two in every five employees in the sector (39%) feel they are working harder now than they were twelve months ago while only 15% feel their workloads have eased over this period.

The biggest contributing factors to the rise in workloads in the finance industry over the last twelve months were specified as employees being given greater targets and responsibility (31% agreed) and organisations keeping teams lean during the economic recovery (23% agreed). Nearly one in five (18%) also specified that job cuts at their place of work also had a significant impact on their work levels.

Tara Ricks, managing director of Randstad Financial and Professional, said: "The accountancy and finance sector is under pressure to keep workforces as lean as possible. With the current levels of economic uncertainty this an understandable approach to take, but this isn't a sustainable model. Quite apart from the mistakes that creep into employees' work when they are over exerting themselves, in the long-run spreading the workforce too thin leads to burnout and lower productivity."

Workload taking its toll
The rise in workload is taking its toll on the finance workforce. Nearly a quarter of finance professionals (23%) feel more stressed now than they did six months ago and over a third (35%) said it takes longer to switch off at the end of work than it did six months ago.

Holidays unable to ease pressure
Rising stress and work worries also mean that holidays are unable to provide suitable respite. Nearly half (49%) of those in finance jobs feel they can't completely switch off from work when on holiday with one in five (22%) stating they know that clearing the backlog of work from their time away will make them feel like they've had no break at all.

Tara Ricks, adds: "Being able to take a break and switch off from work is vital for productivity. Yet this year's summer holiday period has exposed just how stretched UK plc really is. As we head towards the fifth year of difficult economic conditions organisations need to consider their resourcing plans very carefully. Firms simply cannot continue demanding an increased pace of output day in, day out from the same small pool of employees. Clever investment now in just one or two key hires could make all the difference to both short and medium term organisational performance.

Notes to editors
The Randstad group is one of the leading recruitment & HR services providers in the world with a top five position in the UK and a top three position in fifteen countries including the US, France and Germany.

In the UK, Randstad's business lines serve the public and private sectors across Accounting and Financial services; Business Support; Construction, Property and Engineering; Education; Health and Social Care; Interim Management and Search; Human Resources; IT; Legal; Retail; Sales, Marketing and Creative; Student and Worker Support and In-House and Managed Services.

At the end of 2011, Randstad had 1,930 corporate employees in the UK, working in 255 locations. UK revenue in 2011 was EUR789 million. Randstad was founded in 1960 and is headquartered in Diemen, the Netherlands. Randstad Holding nv is listed on the NYSE Euronext Amsterdam. For more information see www.randstad.co.uk and www.randstad.com