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12.04.17

Public sector staff warn of worsening work-life balance post-Brexit

A quarter of public sector workers think that Brexit will increase their workload, and two in five have reported that their work-life balance is worse than it was a year ago, a survey conducted by Boundless in collaboration with PSE has found.

The survey of 920 people working in the public sector found that a large proportion of staff believed that Brexit was having a serious impact on worker morale, and was affecting their professional and personal lives.

While a quarter said that they felt work-life balance had improved in the last 12 months, 41% said it was in decline.

On top of that, almost a third of respondents said that their employee benefits or welfare packages had been cut back in the past year.

Workers were also asked what they believed could improve staff productivity. The biggest factor was flexible working, as 30% said it would improve productivity. After that, respondents prioritised physical health packages like discounted gym membership at 12%, with team building exercises coming in third with 9%.

Carl Fillery, chief executive of Boundless, said that the findings proved “how many public sector employees were now feeling the dual effect of an increased workload, caused by Brexit among other factors, and a reduction in employee benefit and wellbeing programmes, which could have a significant effect on productivity and wellbeing if not addressed”.

“Previous research we’ve conducted has shown that the effect of a diminished work-life balance is that employees are unable to spend quality time with family during the week, feel unable to detach from work and switch off during free time,” he added.

Those who answered the survey also highlighted a key link between an active lifestyle and productive working, as 90% identified a link, and 60% said that those who lead an active lifestyle are more employable. It’s not surprising then, that 80% stated that they wanted their employer to do more to incentivise staff to lead a more active lifestyle.

Fillery also urged public sector employers to look closely at staff benefit packages, including cost-effective ways of helping staff to lead more active lifestyles, which, as today’s new research shows, is very important to employees.

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