Managers 'work longer hours than employees'

MANAGERS are working longer hours than their employees, according to a new workplace lifestyle survey.

The average owner/manager of an Irish small and medium size company works more than 44 hours per week compared to the 37.2 hours worked by the rest of the population. Almost a quarter of owner/managers work 51 hours per week and a further 6% work more than 61 hours.

The survey, conducted by Millward Brown for mobile phone firm O2, found that a quarter of the 300 respondents do not take their full entitlement to annual leave, while just 51% say they always take their full holidays.

The traditional nine-to-five Monday to Friday job also seems at an end with two-third of managers working on some weekends and 47% bringing their work home in the evenings.

According to the survey SME bosses said the pressure of work is affecting their family life with 28% saying that they have missed important family events such as anniversaries or children's birthdays due to work commitments.

The stress of working has also taken its toll on bosses' health and fitness with just one in four admitting they are members of a gym. Of those who are members of a gym, 38% visit twice a week.

A healthy 19% find time to work out three times a week and 15% visit the gym more than three times per week.

The most popular form of relaxation is watching television or socialising with family.

This is followed by reading, visiting the pub and involvement in sports such as golf.

The survey has a positive note for the health minister with 67% of managers in favour of the ban on smoking in the workplace.

Dubliners spend an average of eight hours a week commuting compared to their counterparts in the rest of the country who spend 5.2 hours a week. Just 4% use public transport while three quarters travel by car and just 2% cycle to work.

"We conducted this survey as part of our ongoing analysis to identify mobile services for small and medium businesses," said O2's marketing manager Paul Farrell.

"For example, the study finds that 42% do not have an office receptionist or secretarial support suggesting a case for services such as O2 Assistant whereby a real person takes calls and messages and texts them onto the user."