London - It's a sad sign of the times – the average worker spends just three and a half hours a day with their family, according to a study.
In contrast they spend three times longer working and commuting.
As a result, most parents feel they are missing out on seeing their children grow up, while more than a third thought their work-life balance was skewed towards their career.
Nearly half of the 2 000 adults surveyed for the Scottish Widows’ think-tank, the Centre for the Modern Family, said they did not have time to prepare or eat meals with their family. The same proportion felt they could not help their children with schoolwork as much as they would like.
Balancing the demands of the office and home appears to take its toll, with a third of working parents saying their productivity is lower because they are tired and stressed.
Nearly one in ten said they felt they were doing a bad job both at home and at work.
But nearly half of those who said their life balance was weighted towards family thought they were happier and more focused at work as a result.
Anita Frew, chairperson of the Centre for the Modern Family, said: “The pace of technological advancement has created a constant link between workers and the office, as we face a growing expectation to always be switched on.”
Daily Mail