INTHEBLACK June/July 2024 - Magazine - Page 26
F E AT U R E
“We need to understand the quantum of the problem.
Are we under-scoping our jobs? Are our teams lacking
the capability we need? Are our clients changing
the scope of work midway in a program? What is
actually going on so that people are having to work
ridiculous hours to deliver on an engagement?”
KATE HILLMAN, EY OCEANIA
READ
an INTHEBLACK
article on burnout
26 INTHEBLACK June/July 2024
amending the Fair Work Act 2009 which,
among other things, gives employees the
“right to disconnect”.
However, in industries such as accounting
and finance, long working hours have become
deeply entrenched in workplace culture.
A 2023 survey by life insurer PPS Mutual
shows that overwork affects the health
of more than 40 per cent of accountants,
and it cites increasing regulation and
compliance as key reasons for long hours.
Phil McCann FCPA, director of McCann
Financial Group, says long hours “come with
the territory” and that the ongoing shortage
of accounting talent adds pressure to the
existing workforce.
“I would love to have a bigger supply
of staff,” says McCann, who employs a team
of 12 at his Melbourne-based practice.
“We would love to have a bit more flexibility
from the tax system in terms of lodgement
windows and lodgement processes, but long
hours are currently the nature of the beast,
and 10-hour days are not uncommon.”
Ram Subramanian, interim head
of policy and advocacy at CPA Australia,
says that market expectations and regulatory
requirements add to the pressure.
“Listed companies, for example, not only
have to produce their annual reports within
three months after their year-end, but also
have to get them audited within a window
of time.
“At the end of the day, the firms that
service companies, especially audit firms,
must have the resources available to get
those audits done. In countries like Australia,
there are about 2000 listed companies and
most of them have 30th of June year-end,”
Subramanian says.
Another challenge is that economic
margins are widely viewed as indicators
of performance, which can create pressure
to achieve more with less.
“There is also an issue of people not
recording the hours they work, and there
is pressure on those middle management
layers to meet their metrics,” Hillman says.
“Excessive working hours is clearly
something that is unsustainable, and
I think it goes to the heart of quality
of work as well.”
THE IMPACT OF OVERWORK
In some cases, overwork can lead to unpaid
overtime. According to 2023 research from
ADP Singapore, 40 per cent of employees
in Singapore work up to 10 hours of unpaid
time per week.
Research from the Australia Institute’s
Centre for Future Work shows the average
Australian worker misses out on more
than A$11,000 in wages a year due to
unpaid overtime.
Overworked employees are also at risk
of burnout. Global think tank Infinite
Potential surveyed 2008 people across
43 countries – including Australia,
New Zealand, India, Singapore, the UK
and the US – for its The State of Workplace
Burnout 2024 report. The data shows that
42 per cent of women and 30 per cent
of men are experiencing burnout,
characterised by three dimensions –
exhaustion, reduced efficacy and cynicism.
In addition, 59 per cent of participants
experiencing burnout produce a lower
quality of work.
Clea Wallage, psychologist and founder
of consultancy FirstBest, says work overload
can contribute to burnout.
“We need a level of stress in our life to
perform,” she says. “We need deadlines,
and we need clear expectations to keep us
accountable, but when we keep applying
pressure, our performance starts to ebb.
We get fatigued, exhausted, burnt out
and our performance starts to drop.”
