Britons Are Working Longer Hours

By Author: peter
Total Articles: 191

Britons are working longer hours than they did a decade ago, but are less productive than their counterparts in the United States and continental Europe, according to a survey released today.

The research, conducted by the Economic and Social Research Council, government- financed agency, discloses several work- force myths, including the notion that gold-watch employees who spend their entire careers with one company are a dying breed, and that the new economy has created a transient work force made up of professional freelancers who jump from job to job. Policy makers in Britain have promoted the idea of a more Omega Speedmaster Replica flexible work force, in which people held more part-time or temporary jobs and often worked from home, as one benefit of the new economy. The new type o: employee even got a new name - the port f olio worker - and way supposed to benefit from a more flexible schedule and shorter hours.

But like so much of the new economy that appears to be more wishful thinking than fact. A vast majority of the 2 500 people surveyed, 92 percent, held permanent jobs in 2 000, up from 88 percent in 1992, the last time comparable research was conducted. People are also staying in their jobs longer and working more hours than they did a decade ago.

One of three British men and one of 10 women work more than 50 hours a week, said Prof. Peter Nolan. That is on average about 10 hours more than people work in most other European countries; Americans still work longer hours. Yet Britain is two-thirds less productive than the United States and one-third less productive than Europe when it Frank Mulle Replica comes to manufacturing output, Professor Nolan continued. The long hours are beginning to take a toll, it seems. Only 16 percent of those questioned said they would work banger hours than they do to help their organization, compared with 21 percent who said they would in 1992.

Despite the government's effort to encourage investments in technology mad breathe life into the digital economy; the fastest-growing jobs over the past decade were often trivial, low-wage positions. The number of hairdressers; raw the fastest, Professor Nolan said. Stockers in stores ranked No. 8, behind nurses, housekeepers, call-center operators, welfare workers, education assistants and software engineers.