Longer Hours For Finance Managers

September 24 2007 - Research on behalf of staffing services firm Robert Half International has found that more than half the finance managers surveyed report working longer hours than two years ago, but with considerable variation between countries. Based on responses from more than 2200 individuals from 17 countries, the study also identified a trend toward increased accessibility away from the office.

Key survey findings relating to Canadian respondents include:

• Nearly half (47 per cent) said their hours had increased over the last two years of whom 64 per cent reported currently working between five and 15 extra hours a week.
• Average working hours were 42.5 hours per week, compared to 40.9 hours in the United States, 43.2 hours in Australia, 43.8 hours in Italy and 47.1 hours in Japan.
• Some 44 per cent said they take work calls or check e-mail in the evening at home. This was 10 percentage points higher than average, double that for Germany and exceeded only by the Netherlands (46 per cent).
• Only 29 per cent said they never worked weekends compared to 65 per cent in Spain and 55 per cent in France. One-quarter reported working at least three weekends a month.
• Some 38 per cent said they sometimes or always take their laptops or PDAs with them on vacation, compared to 16 per cent in Ireland, which appears high in the list of hours worked.

The survey found that overall 37 per cent of respondents reported working between 39 and 45 hours per week, and 52 per cent said this was longer than two years ago. The three most commonly cited reasons were more responsibility (56 per cent), company growth (45 per cent) and understaffing (27 per cent).

Max Messmer, chairman and CEO of Robert Half International commented:

"Finance and accounting managers have taken on new roles and responsibilities due to company expansion and the emphasis on corporate governance and compliance. This clearly has resulted in heavier workloads - and, in many cases, the need to work longer hours."

"Professionals around the world have differing expectations of how and when they should work. As organizations branch into new countries, they must understand and respect the customs within different parts of the world. While it may be acceptable to call contacts in one location in the evening or during their vacation, for example, others may consider it intrusive or unprofessional."