Finance workers stressed, overworked and miserable

Mar 30 2005 by Nic Paton Print This Article

More than half of workers in the UK’s financial sector say they want to change jobs, complaining they feel ground down by over-work, a lack of staff to support them and rising levels of workplace stress.

The damning snapshot of the industry has come from a survey of 2,000 finance professionals by recruitment company Robert Half.

It found just over half – 51 per cent – of workers were looking to move jobs, with 54 per cent believing their organisation was under-staffed.

Nearly six out of 10 – 58 per cent – complained that their workloads had increased, and 40 per cent reported increased stress levels.

Almost a quarter worked a 50 hour week, compared with the UK average of 37.5 hours.

Even so, 43 per cent felt guilty they were not putting in enough hours, a rise of 16 per cent on last year’s survey.

Robert Half Finance and Accounting managing director Steve Carter said: “A certain amount of staff turnover is inevitable, and necessary to fuel the market. However, when more than half the workforce is job-hunting it is essential that companies look hard at what they offer their staff.“