Research out today highlights the immense pressure felt by employees in Gloucestershire, Swindon and the rest of the UK to prioritise work ahead of relationships.
More than a quarter of people in the South West (25%) say their boss thinks work should come before family life. This is according to a new report from Relate and Relationships Scotland, which concludes that overworked employees’ relationships suffer as the build-up of stress at work takes its toll.
The research also found that:
- 31% of employees in the South West say they feel pressured to work by their manager even when they are ill.
- 24% of employees in the South West say that stress at home adversely affects them at work.
- 47% of employees in the South West say they would like their employer to offer relationship support.
Employees struggling to balance work and family are more likely to become ill, perform less well and resign; but those satisfied with work and work-life balance are more likely to perform better and be more productive.
The Labour of Love or Love vs Labour report calls for employers to aspire to offer flexible working arrangements as default and to provide free relationship support as part of Employee Assistance Programmes. Relate Gloucestershire and Swindon is supporting the report and urging employers in both Gloucestershire and Swindon to take action.
Kimberley Wall, Service Development Manager said that “This study highlights that relationship challenges are everyone’s business including managers. Whether difficulties for an employee reside within maintaining a work-life balance or managing relationship breakdown at home; investing in employee relationship support can directly affect productivity at work as well as creating a healthier work-force which pays for itself through employee performance, satisfaction and attendance”.
As well as the impact of work pressures on relationships at home, the report also looks at workplace relationships with colleagues and bosses. The good news is that in the South West 68% of employees say they have a good relationship with their boss and 76% reported good relationships with colleagues.
However this does mean that at least one quarter of the South West’s workforce may struggle with relationships with colleagues which can also impact team or individual performance.
Ellaine Cameron, CEO of Relate Gloucestershire and Swindon, is encouraging managers to take notice of these statistics and prioritise good workplace relationships. She says that “it is easier to solely focus on concrete outcomes such as sales or service performance rather than measure the subtle cultural or relational aspects that can greatly impact on an individual or team.
Whether an employee is struggling with a relationship at work or at home, Relate Gloucestershire and Swindon can provide local relationship support for employees if this is something not provided internally or through a larger employer assistance scheme”.
Relate Gloucestershire and Swindon offer an array of packages to employers which are tailored to fit their size or their specific employees needs which include relationship or family counselling for when employees are experiencing distress at home or, work relationship counselling for employees who need support in areas such as communication, assertiveness or setting relationship boundaries.
More information can be found at http://www.relateglos.co.uk/relationships-and-work.html or you can call Relate Gloucestershire and Swindon on 01242 523215 and ask to speak to Ellaine Cameron.
Labour of Love or Love vs Labour is the first in a series of reports from a major piece of research by Relate and Relationships Scotland. Over 5000 UK adults were surveyed as part of The Way We Are Now study, providing a unique window into the current state of the nation’s relationships.
To read the report in full, please visit http://bit.ly/2e4Ewy2 (from 25 October).
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