Please review IELTS Task 2 essay

Prompt:

Some employers want to be able to contact their staff at all times, even on holidays. Does this development have more advantages than disadvantages?

Essay:

Maintaining proper work-life balance is a challenge for many people these days. This has been exacerbated by the fact that many employers want their resources to be available for support even on weekends and public holidays. While the employers may have many justifications for the demands they place on their employees, the situation presents very dire consequences for the employee in the form of various stress-induced illness and fractured family lives.

A lot of flexibility is provided by firms to their employees in terms of their workplace and work timings. They don’t mind how the work gets done as long as the work is delivered on time. This flexibility unfortunately blurs the line of distinction between a person’s working hours and personal free time. Many IT services companies like IBM and Wipro to name a few allow their employees to work from home but then expect them to also often support “urgent” issues or deliverables on weekends. Although many organizations have very flexible work conditions, in the absence of proper expectation setting with their managers, it can be taken for granted that their resources may be available for work outside normal working hours.

People working longer than regular working hours tend to experience more stress related illness. The stress can be caused by unhealthy eating habits as a result of insane work hours. Moreover, working extended hours also means less quality time with family, which can adversely affect the relationships with family members. A recent survey by Cambridge University has shown that 90% of individuals who spent more time at work, even on holidays, tend to suffer from acute stress problems and 87% of individuals struggle with family problems. Therefore, it can safely be said that working overtime will do more harm than good in the long run.

In conclusion, the tendency of employers to engage their employees without respecting their personal time is not a very healthy development, literally. Despite the short-term benefits for the companies, if not controlled, it can have devastating effects on the health and overall well being of their employees.