Wage secondary: English employees amaze researchers
Work is so important to many people that even around 67 percent would work if they didn't need the pay at all. Despite increasing stress, the fear of unemployment seems to dominate. This is shown by a recent study by British Social Attitudes (BSA).
"Despite all the talk about life-work balance, it doesn't look like we actually have it," says psychologist Stephanie Morgan.
Although employees in England work much longer hours on average than they already do and are under stress at times, many employees still "enjoy" their work. Around two out of three employees in the BSA study even state that they do not see pay as the most important means of their work.
A comparable survey was already conducted in 2005. Back then, just 49 percent would go to work even if the money was unimportant to them. Now, there are 67 percent more willing. "Despite all the talk about life-work balance, it doesn't look like we actually have it either," says psychologist Stephanie Morgan of London's Kingston Business School, commenting on this development.
Worldwide phenomenon
It is not only in the UK that workers are increasingly under high stress levels (pressetext reported): http://pte.com/news/20130620004). The researchers therefore wonder about the respondents' statements. "It could be that job satisfaction stems from fear of financial problems. On the other hand, work circumstances have changed, so people are willing to work more," said Kirby Swales of the NatCen Survey Centre (http://natcen.ac.uk).
Finally, the respondents of the study were asked to state whether they feel secure in their job. There is a major contradiction here. In contrast to the sharp increase in job satisfaction, the feeling of safety has not improved at all. "It seems that it is increasingly easy to accept working more and experiencing stress," comments Kurby Swales of the NatCen Survey Centre.
More information about the study conducted can be found at
