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If your ideal job involves clocking in at 9 a.m. and clocking out at 5 p.m., well, good luck finding it.According to new research from tax and consulting firm EY, people across the globe are working longer hours than ever before. In a survey of 9,700 adults between ages 18 and 67, nearly half (46%) of managers reported logging more than 40 hours a week, and 40% said their hours have increased over the past five years.Americans have it particularly bad: 58% of managers in the US reported working over 40 hours a week. The only country where people work longer hours is Mexico, where 61% said the same.Compare that to China, where just 19% of managers said they work over 40 hours a week.The survey also found that parents have seen their hours increase more than non-parents. Among managers, 41% of full-time working parents said they've seen their hours increase in the last five years, as opposed to 37% of non-parents.So it's of little surprise that one-third of full-time employees said it's gotten harder to balance work and family in the last five years. In fact, while most people said they value flexibility at work, about 10% of US employees who have tried to implement a flexible schedule said they've suffered a negative consequence, like being denied a promotion, as a result.Companies would be wise to rethink their flexible-schedule policies if they want to retain workers. More than two-thirds of respondents said they would consider quitting a job if their boss didn't allow them to work flexibly.
