Almost half of UK workers would rather take a 20% pay cut if it meant they could spend more time at home with their families, according to new research from home interiors specialist Hillarys.

Photo: PA

Photo: PA

Over 2,000 workers asked if they were happy with their work-life balance and 64% of them stated they were not.

When prompted to explain the reasons why, the majority stated that they felt guilty for not spending enough time with their spouse and/or children. Those who were least unhappy with their work-life balance were found to work in healthcare, travel and marketing. Whereas, it was found that people who were self-employed, vets or those working with animals, and teachers were found to be most happy with their work life balance.

The top reasons for not being happy with their work-life balance were found to be:

  1. I don’t get paid enough for the hours I work / I don’t get paid overtime - 66%
  2. I don’t get very much time with my children between work and them going to bed - 64%
  3. I feel I am missing my child/children growing up - 56%
  4. I feel guilty that I don’t spend enough time with my partner - 58%
  5. My work pattern is not the same as my spouses - 20%

Asked what they would be happy to do in order to get more time with their family, almost half would consider taking a pay cut and cutting their hours, whilst one in three would like to be able to work from home or work flexitime.

Almost all of those who would be happy to cut their hours and their pay would consider dropping one day at work and losing 20% of their income, with just 15% relishing the idea of cutting even more hours.

Tara Hall, spokesperson for www.hillarys.co.uk said:

“Balancing a full time job and personal life can be really difficult, especially once you’ve got children and other family members in the mix too. It’s no surprise that so many workers are unhappy with balance they’re currently getting, but it’s interesting to see how many would be willing to settle for less income to improve it. Unfortunately, a lot of people just aren’t in the position to lose out on pay, which is where we think employers can be doing more to support workers who are committing to long hours in the office.”

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