The Irish work the longest hours in the EU, according to a new report. But is this a good thing, asks Róisín Ingle.
Those of us counting down the seconds until clocking- off time and browsing for holiday bargains on our office computer may have choked on our cappuccinos at the news, but apparently it's official: we are the hardest workers in the EU.
More than 90,000 of us are working more than 60 hours a week, according to a report published this week by the London-based Work Foundation. While those working longest are to be found in the management or skilled manual-labour sectors and are predominantly male, the report also found that women in the Republic are working longer hours when compared with their sisters in the rest of the EU.
This last statistic comes as no surprise to businesswoman Norah Casey, chief executive of Harmonia, which publishes the stable of magazines she took over from the Smurfit Group last year.
"I think that the statistic reflects the upturn in the economy and the new generation of fantastic, ballsy women who believe they can have it all," she says. "It's also indicative of the crazy work culture in Ireland, where we seem to think that hours worked leads to success in business, which doesn't necessarily follow."
Casey believes that, without exception, the top male business leaders here are "workaholics who owe their success to sheer hard graft rather than cleverly used working hours. When I worked in England there was a much more visible work-life balance culture. At home [ Ireland], being seen in the office at weekends or until eight o'clock is a badge of honour rather than something to be criticised".
It doesn't have to be that way, she suggests. Casey works regular office hours, although the pressures of heading up her own business mean she will often go back to her computer for a few hours after she puts her six-year-old son to bed.
Meadhbh Quinn, who runs her own busy marketing consultancy in Dublin, says it is now the norm for people like her to be in the office from 8am until 8pm, often without taking a proper lunch break. It's also not unusual for her to receive text messages from clients after midnight.
"They don't necessarily want you to call them back, but there is definitely this culture of never being off-duty. People go on holidays now and tell you not to worry about contacting them as they will be checking their e-mails regularly," she says.
While keenly aware of work-life balance issues - she does yoga whenever she can - she is still stressed for much of the time. She has family members who have lived abroad in places such as Japan and London, who report working longer hours at home than they ever did abroad.
'THE IMPLICATIONS FOR our health are not good," she says. "There may be some weeks when I am less busy, but there is always the knowledge that the pace is about to pick up, so you can't relax".
"It's as though workers in Ireland are running to standstill," says Macdara Doyle, a spokesperson for Ictu, the group of unions. "It's particularly noticeable in urban areas where parents are paying the price of another mortgage on childcare costs and feel they have to work longer to stay afloat. And you'd have to wonder if some of those reporting a 60-hour-plus working week are also getting into their cars for a two-hour commute at the end of the day. It's a hellish scenario and the kind of society we are creating doesn't bode well for our mental or physical health."
There are some indications, though, that Irish people cope well under increased work pressure. Irish workers, while they work harder, tend to be the most content, according to research conducted last year by the Dublin-based European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions. Almost two-thirds said they would not change their hours if they had the choice and almost half said their hours fit in well with family and social commitments.
This still leaves a lot of people who are dissatisfied with the dominance that work has over their lives. Casey believes business leaders should lead by example, showing their employees that being chained to the desk is not necessarily the key to success.
"They should take the lead and tell their staff that they will be leaving at six every night, taking proper holidays and making time for family life. It would lift the pressure," she says.
The Work Foundation report is online at www.theworkfoundation. com/pdf/Still@Work.pdf