It is widely recognised that workers in the UK work some of the longest hours in Europe. So much so that a recent study has suggested that commuters are so regularly using travel time to manage their work emails that their journeys should be counted as part of the working day. Read the full BBC article.
The rise of technology and free access to Wi-Fi on trains does raise questions about the blurring of the boundaries between work and home life and how businesses may need to consider adapting to employees’ changing working methods.
The UK is not alone in highlighting concerns about the gradual creep of work life into home life. The culture in Japan of working extremely long hours has led to its government urging companies to allow employees to start the working week at midday on one Monday each month.
Read the full article from The Guardian. Japanese language contains the word – “karoshi” – defined as ‘death from overwork’ and clearly it has been felt necessary for intervention at a national level to try and find a solution to the country’s extreme working patterns.
