Study reveals longer work hours for more than half of finance professionals across the globe

Specialist financial recruitment firm Robert Half has released a new report ñ ëWorking Hours: A Global Comparisoní ñ comparing the number of hours finance professionals spend at work across 17 different countries, including how often they work on vacation, evenings and weekends . The report also examines the impact of technology on our working lives and the blurring line between work and personal time.

Below are some key findings for the UK:

UK ranks 13th out of the 17 countries polled in terms of the average number of hours worked per week

Finance professionals in UK work 42.1 hours per week; thatís just 18 minutes less than the global average of 42.4 hours per week

Globally, more than half (52 per cent) of financial professionals say they have been putting in more time over the last two years; this compares to 53 per cent of respondents from the UK.

Globally, the two most popular reasons for an increase in working hours are taking on more responsibility (56 per cent) and company growth (45 per cent)

38 per cent finance professionals across the globe say they take their laptop or PDA with them on holiday; 14% say they cannot relax unless they are in touch with the office

In the UK, 31 per cent of finance professionals say they take their laptop or PDA with them on holiday and 11 per cent say they cannot relax unless they are in touch with the office

One in three (34 per cent) finance professionals globally admit to working in the evenings and an additional 37 per cent say they respond to e-mails and take phone calls in the evening when they have pressing deadlines. This compares to 36 per cent of respondents from the UK.

Globally, 12 per cent of financial professionals say they work every weekend; in the UK, 10 per cent say they work every weekend while the majority 31 per cent say they work one weekend a month.

To view the full report, click here