How can accountants achieve a better work-life balance?
How can accountants achieve a better work-life balance?
Jonathan Barber, executive director of the Institute of Financial Accountants, says it's time to take action to stop excessive working hours as accountants are put under increasing pressure to deal with huge workloads
In the most recent member survey from the Institute of Financial Accountants (IFA) it was revealed that many respondents are working overtime, including evenings and weekends. Fuelled largely by an increase in workload for the second year in a row, accountants can find themselves overstretched and under-resourced. The question is whether enough is being done to mitigate the issue, and help assure a healthy work-life balance.
How does workload affect wellbeing?
Excessive workload is closely linked to burnout, feelings of dissatisfaction, and a likelihood to change jobs, in turn driving avoidable recruitment and training costs for employers. Despite continuing demand for policies that promote work life balance – made popular as a necessary adaptation to the Covid-19 pandemic – studies show that many businesses continue to fall behind on meeting employee needs, either through lack of planning, or possibly even a lack of understanding of the value.
For sole practitioners, there is even less flexibility. They must respond to fluctuations in demand from clients directly, without the benefit of colleague support, putting them more at risk of burnout.
When members were asked for feedback on the hours they usually work and the impact this has on them, encouragingly 33%% indicated they work a standard 31 to 40 hours a week. However, three in every 25 accountants cited consistently working more than 51 hours per week, while a further 9 out of every 25 are working between 41 and 50 hours per week.
The survey results also showed that almost one in three members often work at the weekend and in the evenings with nearly half of respondents highlighting that their workload has increased during the past two years. This was broadly in line with the 2023 survey indicating an increase in workload over twenty-four months.
Whilst over half of respondents indicated that they could manage their work-life balance effectively, nearly one in three suggested they found it difficult to take time out for holidays, and this in turn results in a negative impact on their family life which was highlighted by more than 13% of members. To some extent this can be seen as being usual for those working in SMEs, but it does highlight the challenges of overwork in the sector and the need for sole practitioners, employers and firms to adopt healthier working practices.
What resulting issues are accountants facing?
Respondents were questioned on the issues they or their business had faced, with personal and family health problems featuring prominently.
The other concerns highlighted included the legacy impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, the economy and the cost of living crisis, changes to legislation and difficulties with staffing.
How have changes to legislation affected work-life balance?
New legislation for flexible working came into force this year on 6 April 2024, centred on improving employee rights to flexible working. The Employment Relations Act 2023 seeks to improve employees’ work-life balance and therefore quality of life.
The new legislation means employees can make biannual requests to their employer for a flexible working contract. This legislation applies to all employees from the start date of their role whereas historic legislation presented a 26-week delay. Employers must meet with employees before deciding if they should accept or deny their request.
Emerging solutions
Plausible solutions for managing work-life balance are dependent on the working environment of each individual. For sole practitioners – a common entity in accounting – flexible working legislation does little to address the challenge of managing variable client demand and preventing burnout. They require a different approach to those employed by accountancy firms, or businesses employing a finance team.
International outsourcing is gaining momentum as a solution to streamline and alleviate pressure from daily administration tasks. Qualified overseas employees are available flexibly, have the training to work to UK regulatory standards, and offer a solution which can reduce the volume of work UK accountants have, ensuring continuity and timely services for clients. Furthermore, it enables accountants to dedicate their time and knowledge to providing high-quality advisory services instead of delivering routine administration tasks.
For accountancy firms, flexible working will likely be in demand. It provides employees with the opportunity to independently decide on their own schedule, with a focus on productivity and results. It can however bring with it challenges around maintaining consistent opening times and ensuring businesses are available to meet all client’s needs, so there are various innovative solutions to solve these problems.
For example, introducing a client triage team, forwarding calls to a call answering service, or office- and home-based rotas can be implemented to meet clients’ needs whilst allowing employees to have increased control over their own workload to satisfy their personal schedules.
Realistically, innovative approaches enable employees to independently decide on their own schedules, meaning they are no longer monitored by time including the hours they must spend in the office, and instead focusing entirely on higher productivity and improved results. This includes measuring output, quality, client retention, and contribution to turnover, amongst other factors.
If they haven’t already, all practices with employees should be undertaking an urgent review of procedures to align with the new legislation, and perhaps advise their relevant clients to do the same.
Whilst it will take time to fully enable flexible working practices in a firm to maximise its effectiveness, the new strategy should be one that backs up a firm’s business methods, works for all staff, and improves the morale and retention rates, all whilst conserving high standards of business practice and service to all clients.
This article is sourced from the following link:
https://www.accountancydaily.co/how-can-accountants-achieve-better-work-life-balance
