Many young accountancy professionals are feeling undervalued and are struggling to cope with their poor work-life balance, according to new research from AccountsIQ.
It means more than a third (39%) of these young professionals have taken time off because of stress, even though they are no more than 3 years into their accountancy careers.
Among those surveyed for ‘Confessions of the finance function’ report, some 82% said working in finance has caused some negative impact on their life, including their mental health.
Sleep was hard to come by for 38% of young professionals, with 27% saying they didn’t have time looking after their physical fitness and 22% admitted they had a poor diet. The stress of work has also affected one in five’s (19%) family relationships.
One in three (34%) of those surveyed said work stress was affecting their mental health.
The sense of being undervalued may shock some bosses too. Some 94% of young professionals said they feel undervalued in some way. The top three gripes here are being underpaid in their role, a lack of recognition for their work, and being made to do repetitive tasks that they feel overqualified for.
Despite being ambitious, some young professionals also expressed concern about the burden of high expectations. The worry is only 22% of senior finance professionals believe their younger counterparts possess both exceptional skills and a strong work ethic.
Despite all the issues some 77% of young professionals said they genuinely enjoyed working in their finance team, but just 58% said they ‘found meaning’ in their current role.
AccountsIQ’s COO, Darren Cran, said: “It is clear that with so many finance professionals taking time off for stress, businesses must ensure they do not fall into the trap of regarding the finance team as human calculator machine.”
He added: “Finance leaders must wake up to the reality that the job is impacting their colleagues’ sleep, metal wellbeing, and even diet.”
Check out AccountQI’s ‘Confessions of the finance function’ at: Confessions of the finance function | AccountsIQ
