Senior managers have worst work-life balance
“Stress and lack of morale in a business needs to be treated at source" - Janice Haddon, MD of Morgan Redwood.
Almost 40 per cent of businesses feel that work-life balance has the biggest influence on staff morale, according to figures published by a leading expert in leadership development.
The figures, published by Morgan Redwood, reveal that 39 per cent of businesses regard work-life balance as the most influential factor for staff morale, with board members and senior managers regarded as having the worst work-life balance.
The figures are a considerable leap up from a similar report published in 2009, where its previous ranking was sixth.
Janice Haddon, MD of Morgan Redwood said: “The findings from this latest report help to demonstrate the importance of a good work-life balance – in the eyes of business leaders at least. When taken against our 2009 findings, it seems that it’s now regarded as much more important than it was previously".
In the study, senior managers from over 250 businesses were asked to rate their employees level of morale out of 10, with 10 being excellent. They found that the average rating was 5.2.
When asked what factors were most likely to adversely affect morale, 33.2 per cent ranked a poor work-life balance as number one.
Furthermore, when asked to rank 'who has the best work-life balance', senior managers came out fourth, with only the board deemed to have a worse balance. The ‘wider workforce’ were deemed to have the best balance, followed by ‘junior managers’ and ‘middle managers’.
Janice said: “Considering we questioned heads of HR and board director level staff, the results are based on their perspective. However it does certainly serve to demonstrate that senior members of staff consider themselves to have a raw deal when it comes to work-life balance. "
She added: “A considerable number saw a poor work-life balance adversely affecting morale within the workplace. If senior managers experience a poor work-life balance, this can lead to stress, worry, lower energy and poor concentration, which can then drip feed down to junior management teams, ultimately having a negative impact on the business as a whole.”
Janice concluded: “Stress and lack of morale in a business needs to be treated at source. In order to keep up business performance, senior managers need to maintain a healthy work-life balance. This positive balance can then filter on to the wider workforce. Overworked employees with no time for their personal life will soon face burnout, so employers need to take action to meet the needs of their staff.”
RCVS' Mind Matters Initiative (MMI) has launched round two of its veterinary mental health research grants.
