Redistribution of working time: achieving a better work-life balance

The report is based principally on the findings of a survey of 2,390 workers in the UK engineering, automotive, shipbuilding and manufacturing industries, of their experiences and perceptions of, and aspirations regarding all aspects of working time. The findings in relation to the numbers of hours and overtime worked, shift length and patterns, workers' ability to influence their shift patterns, flexibility, flexi-time working, pressures of work, work intensification, mental and physical health, sickness absence and work-life balance provide the basis for a compelling case for shorter working time. Around 9-in-10 respondents indicated their emphatic support for a trade union campaign in their industries for shorter working time without loss of pay. In addition to the powerful statistical evidence, the report contains complementary data in the form of rich and extensive written testimony, which reveal many of the often unacknowledged but hugely important lived experiences of workers. The report details the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on workers' perceptions of, and aspirations towards, shorter working time, concluding that the pandemic forced very many to re-evaluate their priorities in relation to work and non-work/home life respectively.