Workers Worldwide Still Struggle with Balance

One-third of full-time workers say that managing their work-life balance has become more difficult, with younger generations and parents hit hardest, according to a survey of working adults in the U.S., U.K., India, Japan, China, Germany, Mexico and Brazil. The survey was conducted by EY, the global assurance, tax, transaction and advisory services firm.

Top reasons for difficulty in achieving work balance are split nearly evenly between “my salary has not increased much, but my expenses have” and “my responsibilities at work have increased.”

Millennials are struggling to maintain balance between work and family responsibilities. They are almost twice as likely to have a spouse/partner working at least full-time than Baby Boomers (47%). That makes “finding time for me” the top challenge faced by Millennial parents in management-level jobs (76%), followed by “getting enough sleep” and “managing personal and professional life.”

Globally, younger generations are seeing their hours increase at a time when many are moving into management-level jobs and starting families. Fully 47% of Millennial managers reported an increase in hours versus 38% for Gen X and 28% for Boomers.

Additional survey findings:

• 46% of managers globally are working more than 40-hour weeks;
• Full-time working parents who are managers (41%) have seen their hours increase more in the last five years than non-parents (37%);
• Full-time employees in Germany and Japan are likeliest to indicate that it has gotten tougher to manage work-life balance;
• Parents in Germany, the U.K., India and the U.S. found it more difficult than non-parents to manage work/life balance.