Overworking our staff isn't working
Seek quality of life, not quantity of work, for a happy workforce, says David Ford.
When in January Danny O'Neill resigned as chief executive of Britannic, one of the UK's biggest insurance companies, the business world scoffed.
O'Neill had only been in his £300,000-a-year job for a mere seven weeks but he had made a decision that will speak volumes to Britain's increasingly frazzled workforce. He decided to quit his job to spend more time with his young family and find a better balance between his home and work life.
Certainly, O'Neill is not alone. Britain as a nation is now working longer and harder than ever before. As is widely reported, stress in the workplace is a major issue, causing loss of productivity and, in many cases, illness and many days taken off sick.
As an industry, the catering and hospitality sector often demands long, unsociable and sometimes unpredictable hours of its employees, so this theme is a pertinent one. But the results of our recent Sodexho Research Institute study into the quality of daily life proves that our industry, like others, has a workforce whose attitudes are changing in light of modern demands.
Our results make interesting reading. Despite the expectations and demands of our jobs, British workers no longer count their work as the most important thing in their lives. In fact, compared with 40 years ago, today's workers are now more likely to prioritise their home lives.
Of course, there are many reasons for this turnaround, one of the most important being that today's workforce is much more diverse. For example, we now have many more women working either full- or part-time while balancing their family responsibilities.
Because of this, workers demand more flexibility from employers and request real assistance to help achieve the sort of balance that O'Neill felt his working life was lacking.
So what sort of things will help our workforce achieve better quality in their daily lives? The broad answer is greater flexibility. People are looking for practical assistance and services to make their lives easier.
As employers battle to attract and retain the best talent, the provision of a staff canteen is no longer seen as an adequate benefit. But if it is combined with workplace crŠches, helpdesks and in-house services such as dry cleaning, companies can start to provide an environment where workers can work but also enjoy their time outside of their jobs.
Many of these stress-easing services are provided by companies in the catering and hospitality industries, so there are inherent opportunities for us all.
And by demonstrating best practice, we as an industry can help employers provide creative solutions that will go some way to making Britain's workforce more productive and contented.
David Ford is chief executive of Sodexho
