Looking back years from now, 2010 will probably not turn out to be the year when lots of employees focused on their work/life balance.
The uncertain economy and high unemployment rate left many Americans nervous about the job market and anxious to hold onto their jobs. For many, it also meant doing more work and perhaps even taking less personal time, according to a survey from the jobs website Careerbuilder.com.
About half of the more than 3,000 workers surveyed in August and September said their workloads had increased in the past six months. A little more than one-quarter said they had not taken a personal or sick day in the past few years — the same amount that reported health issues tied to work stress.
We all know that cell phones, laptops and other devices are blurring the line between home and work, so it shouldn’t come as a surprise that many people are working even when they aren’t at work.
About one-third of workers surveyed said they bring home work about once a week, and about one quarter said they still think about work when they are at home or out socially.
Many also seem to be staying late at the office. About half of those surveyed said they work more than 40 hours a week.
Of course, for some of us, focusing more on work and less on home may have been a welcome trend. For 15 percent of respondents, being at work was preferable to being at home.