By Xinhua,
Canberra : A national index released on Monday showed that the Australians believed they overworked and their job interfered with their life.
Most people wanted to work less with a working week of 34.6 hours, the 2008 Australian Work and Life Index produced by the University of South Australia showed.
That desire compared with an actual average working week of 38.2 hours, the index said.
The university’s Hawke Research Institute for Sustainable Societies’ latest annual work-life index revealed more than one in five Australians worked 48 hours a week or more.
“The most common type of work-life interference is restriction of time with family and friends due to work,” index authors Barbara Pocock and Natalie Skinner said in their findings.
The index surveyed 2,831 workers nationwide, with more than half saying their job interfered with activities outside of work.
According to the index, 55 percent of workers often or almost always felt rushed or pressed for time. And 54.5 percent of respondents strongly or somewhat agreed they often had too much work for one person to manage.
The work-life balance was poorest for managers and professionals and for those who worked in information, media and telecommunications industries, the index said.
It also showed that mothers and fathers had worse work-life interaction compared to those without parenting responsibilities.
“Mothers are especially affected by work-life conflict,” the index stated.