Survey: Longer Work Hours Taking Away Family Time

The average workweek for a full-time employee is 49.2 hours. That's the finding of a survey by Personnel Decisions International Corp. Also: Only 8% of those surveyed said that their time commitment to work had decreased in the last five years. That extra time comes at the expense of their families. About 41% of those surveyed said that if they could work only 40 hours per week, they'd spend the extra time with family and friends. The biggest reason for working more hours? More than 40% cited a larger workload piled on them by their employer. Nearly 25% said the increased workload was due to a promotion or job change. Only 10% were working longer for financial reasons. "The shortage of workers . . . means that companies are asking employees to pick up the slack until they can get relief from new hires," says Vonda Mills, senior consultant for PDI.