Fair and sustainable?: The implications of work intensification for the wellbeing and effectiveness of PGA members

This report discusses the findings of the Working Hours, Workload and Work-life Balance Survey of members of the Prison Governors’ Association (PGA). The survey explores the impact of working hours and workload upon PGA members’ work-life balance and their experience of stress and ill health. The potential impact of significant changes to organisation, staffing and working conditions associated with ‘fair and sustainable’ terms and conditions and prison ‘benchmarking’ are also examined.
The research was conducted through a web-based survey of PGA members between July and August 2015. In total, 421 members participated in the survey, representing two-fifths of the association’s total membership. The key findings highlight:
Increasing hours
• 57.2% of respondents work, on average, between 38 and 48 hours per week, More worryingly, 41.3% work, on average, over 48 hours per week;
• 53.2% state their working hours have increased over the past year; and
• 94.5% work additional hours to keep up on top of workload.
Increasing workload
• 81.9% state that their workload has increased over the previous year, while only 1.9% of members have seen a decrease in their workload.
Work-life imbalance
• 56.5% of respondents sometimes experience difficulties in achieving a work-life balance (WLB), but 32.5% found it difficult to achieve a balance at all; and
• many work-life balance policies are unavailable to PGA members and support policies, such as stress management, are perceived to be ineffective.
Stress
• 19.2% of all respondents suffer stress over half of the time they are at work; and
• 61.0% claim they have suffered stress-related ill health.
Cultural issues
• 60.3% of respondents experiencing work-related stress claim their employer has not helped them cope with the causes of stress; and
• members’ comments highlight some of the barriers to securing a work-life balance and dealing with stress, linked to a culture of ‘getting on with it’.
Demotivation
• 59.9% of respondents are demotivated by the series of changes affecting their jobs; and
• 42.5% of respondents state they will consider changing jobs if conditions remain as they are.
While it is important to emphasise that the report focuses upon analysing the overall (aggregate) findings, highlighting the impact of work intensification on a large proportion of PGA members, analysis of disaggregated data indicates that members who are disabled and those who have caring responsibilities are disproportionately affected by current working hours patterns, workload levels, finding it particularly difficult to maintain a work-life balance.