Work-life balance is becoming a real issue for British homeowners as a report from The One account has revealed 60% of us are working unpaid overtime to maintain our lifestyle.
The long hours are not a matter of choice. Almost half (46%) of people claim they work these hours simply because they have too much work to fit into a ‘normal’ working day. 86% say that having the mortgage to pay means putting in the hours for job security is paramount.
The depressing figures show the first half of the working month is spent simply to meet mortgage payments, and this means 30% of homeowners don’t have the money for the lifestyle they want.
But would they have the time to enjoy that lifestyle anyway? The longer hours mean they don’t have time for much else in their lives. 49% don’t spend time on their hobbies and 44% say it affects their love life. Not only does it impact on leisure time and activities, but it’s affecting people’s health too. 29% of homeowners don’t get enough sleep, 40% spend less time than they want to keeping fit and almost a third (30%) eat less healthy foods than they know they should.
Debbie Milsom, spokeswoman for The One account commented: “British homeowners are finding the work-life balance increasingly difficult to deal with. People are so busy focusing on job security that they don’t have time to look after themselves or even maintain an active life outside work. It’s a worry that people are not getting enough sleep and don’t even have the time to eat the right foods. There is a price to pay for working long hours and, despite all their hard work, people are still not leading their ideal lifestyle because of the commitment to their mortgage.”
The report revealed that, as well as the mortgage, people are burning the midnight oil for other commitments - 48% have other mouths to feed and 45% have other debts to pay on top of their mortgage.
Milsom continued: “Maintaining job security is highly important to British homeowners because without it they couldn’t support themselves and their families. Not only this but many people have debts to pay in addition to their mortgages every month. Having a mortgage and other financial commitments should not prevent people from leading the lifestyle that they want to. It is the yearning for this lifestyle that draws people to The One Account - undoubtedly the most aspiring is the ability to pay off your mortgage early - which an 80% of our customers are on track to do. Being mortgage free would then enable you to reassess your lifestyle – and then have the freedom to travel, take a career break, or even start your own business.”
