All work and no holidays for UK’s long hours workers

Nearly a quarter of self-confessed workaholics do not take a single paid day’s holiday each year, a nationwide survey commissioned by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) has found.

Over one in ten “long hours workers” - which include those who do not describe themselves as workaholic but who work more than 48 hours - do not take a single paid day’s holiday each year. One in five long hours workers, meanwhile, take 10 days holiday or less.

Commenting on the survey findings, Mike Emmott, Employee Relations Adviser at the CIPD said: “Workers should take holiday and avoid working excessively long hours both from a personal and career perspective as this can put a strain on relationships with partners, children and friends. Long-suffering spouses and cohabiting partners tend to consider it a price worth paying if it guarantees a decent standard of living.”

The CIPD report, ‘Married to the job?’ explores the impact of working long hours on relationships with family, friends and work colleagues. It is based on two research projects. One is a follow-up survey of 486 people who originally worked more than 48 hours a week in a nationwide survey conducted in July 1998.

The 291 people who are still working more than 48 hours a week two years on were re-interviewed for the report.

The second research project is a national survey of UK workers, which looks at how ‘workaholics’ and other people who work long hours are perceived in the workplace. (MB)