Finance managers worldwide are working longer hours, as well as checking in from home and while on vacation more frequently, according to a new study.
The study, from recruitment firm Robert Half International, surveyed 2,200 financial managers from 17 countries. It found that 45 percent of finance managers in the U.S. said their hours had increased in the past two years. Of those, two thirds said they now work an extra five to 15 hours per week.
U.S. finance managers who responded to the survey work an average of 40.9 hours per week. Still, that's considerably less than in Japan, where the reported average was 47.1 hours a week, or Luxembourg, where it was 47.6 hours.
Working while on vacation has become more routine, with 39 percent of U.S. respondents saying they sometimes or always took their laptops or PDAs with them on vacation. That figure was only 16 percent in Ireland, which was otherwise near the top of the list in terms of the number of hours worked, with an average of 45.8 hours per week.
Only 32 percent of U.S. respondents said they never work weekends, compared to 65 percent in Spain and 51 percent in New Zealand. About 25 percent of the surveyed U.S. financial managers said they work three or more weekends each month. The three main reasons cited worldwide for increased working hours were more responsibilities, company growth and understaffing.
