Managing work-life balance
Tuesday 31 July
13:00 - 13:45

The issue of work-life balance is one which is steadily gaining prominence. Last week, TrainingZONE announced that the National Work-Life Forum had teamed up with the Industrial Society to help further work in this area.

Both the media and government are keen to promote the idea that flexible working is becoming the new way to work, but the reality has yet to bear this out. Surveys repeatedly show that workers in the UK regularly put in more hours than their counterparts in mainland Europe.

Legislation like the Working Time Directive has been brought in to try and redress the balance, but there limits to the effectiveness of regulations which permit employee opt-outs and which exempt some occupations altogether. Technology is supposed to be the answer to managing work time more efficiently, but the fact that it allows work to be completed at any time, anywhere means that it can also allow employees to take work home with them and actually increase workloads.

Can the general trend towards more flexible working vaunted by the media and government actually be reality for the majority of the UK workforce? If legislation isn't going to make a significant difference, then what is?

If you have been responsible for or have experienced flexible working in your workplace, or have found yourself spending longer and longer hours at your desk, come along and share your experiences at the workshop at the time shown above.

TrainingZONE online workshops are free to participants.