Business News

UK bosses work longest hours in Europe: new research reveals European business leaders are working longer hours than ever

UK business leaders work the longest hours in Europe, according to new research by European business communication provider Interoute.

Nearly half of UK bosses (47 per cent) work more than 60 hours each week, while the average figure of European bosses working the same hours was 34 per cent. Spanish business leaders were the least likely to work a 60-hour week, with just 28 per cent doing so, followed by the Italians (29 per cent) and the French (32 per cent).

Interoute surveyed 1,050 senior business decision-makers (CEOs, MDs, CIOs and CFOs) across seven European countries (UK, France, Spain, Germany, The Netherlands, Italy and Poland), and found that more than half of respondents (55 per cent) are working more hours per week than they were in 2000. This is despite communications technologies designed to help with work/life balance and enable more flexible working.

Communications technology is now so advanced that people can work from home, or on the road in the same way as they can in the office. According to the research, this mobile culture is facilitated by the growing use of video conferencing and online meeting services across Europe, with 65 per cent of European business heads seeing this growth. This goes a long way to meet the needs of a mobile workforce.

Gareth Williams CEO at Interoute said: “Technology should be an enabler that brings flexibility and responsiveness to business practice and leads to more productive use of time spent traveling or away from the office.

“We work in a highly competitive world and for UK business sectors like the financial services sector to maintain its position as a global leader, it’s paramount that these technologies form the backbone of any business infrastructure.

“Unexpected events, no matter how big or small, can have a devastating impact on productivity, with the delay to the opening of Liverpool Street station being the latest example of lost time and productivity for thousands of City workers. Advanced communications technology gives businesses the flexibility to work around these incidents with little or no impact on productivity,” said Mr Williams.

 

 

ff,

Coventry, Croydon,