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Work-life campaign could be undermined by workers` attitudes to long hours

July 08, 2002

Two years after the Government launched its Work-Life Campaign, Britain`s men are maintaining their reputation for working the longest hours in Europe. The average working week for men is 45 hours, with nearly one in four employees working unpaid overtime. But why do they do it? According to researchers at the University of Kent it may not be down to straightforward management or financial pressure. Instead many see their long hours as an investment which will bring them some kind of long-term payback either in terms of career progression or salary level, a view which may well undermine attempts by Government to promote an improved work-life balance.

Work by Professor Francis Green and Dr. David Campbell, from the University`s Economics Department, has revealed that those who work longer hours are not only more likely to be promoted but are more likely to earn higher pay in the future. Working "unpaid" hours is an especially good investment for the future. According to Professor Green, `Individuals working longer hours tend to signal a higher level of commitment to their employer which improves their chances of securing promotion or a better job. Also people choose to work longer hours to enhance their work skills, thereby improving their earning capacity.`

However, there is a point at which the law of diminishing returns sets in. There is no evidence of any long-term incentive for men to work beyond about 60 hours. `We can only deduce that working, say, 70 hours a week rather than 60 is driven by compulsion, by very low wages or by a remarkable lack of aversion to work,` commented Professor Green.
The study also showed that for women working part-time there is a long-term economic incentive to switch to working full-time. On average, one extra hour per week between 1991 and 1995 was rewarded in 1996 by pay that was 1.5% higher than others with the same characteristics and working the same 1996 hours.

Francis Green and David Campbell argue that until governments take on board the fact that working longer hours is often worth it in the long-term, legislation such as the European Directive on Working Time will continue to have little or no impact in certain areas. For women, the long-term cost of working shorter hours has implications for the continuing gender-pay gap.

Kent, University of

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