Zopa: Workers would take pay cut for four-day week
BRITISH workers would take a seven per cent pay cut if it meant that they could work one less day a week, according to a new survey from Zopa.
Based on the average UK salary of £28,677, this would equate to an average annual loss of £2,000 in return for a shorter working week.
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The peer-to-peer consumer lending platform also found that 48 per cent of those workers who receive a bonus would give it up in return for a four-day week. Meanwhile, 89 per cent would jump at the chance to work fewer hours in order to spend time doing things that “make them feel good.”
Zopa’s survey also revealed that almost two thirds (65 per cent) of employees feel overworked and believe that they are working too many hours for the money they are paid. Almost a quarter (24 per cent) said that they are loyal to their work, but they don’t believe their employer is loyal to them, and 73 per cent think that they will regret working so much in the future.
“Flexible working is a growing trend, and it’s not surprising to see that there are many people out there who would be interested in taking a cut in their pay packet or sacrificing their bonus to get some extra time off,” said Clare Gambardella, chief customer officer at Zopa.
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“It’s all about finding the right balance that works for you and making sure that whether you are at work or at home, you can feel good about your situation. At Zopa we fully support flexible working and work with our employees to balance their individual needs and circumstances with the needs of the business.”
More than a third (37 per cent) of the survey respondents said that a good work/life balance is one of the most important things about a job.
18 per cent said that they would feel more fulfilled if they could choose the amount of work they do, while 52 per cent of people said that if they had more time off, they would simply relax and unwind.
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