Irish finance staff seek training to help manage workload

Overworked Irish finance professionals want more training, not less work, to help them cope, a survey has revealed.

According to Robert Half Finance & Accounting’s 2006 Ireland Salary Survey, 32% of finance professionals are feeling stressed. For just over a third of these, workload is the main contributing factor. Other factors that increase stress are the level of work they are being asked to do (16%) and their lack of work/life balance (11%). 

Better training

However, instead of asking for less work, they are calling on their employers to provide training to better equip them for the job (23%). The next most popular request was a review of benefits (17%). Reducing the workload appears in third place at 16%.
 
Ken Harbourne, branch manager of Robert Half Finance & Accounting in Dublin, said: ‘Finance professionals need to be careful, as working on overdrive can be just as dangerous to their careers as simply getting by.
 
‘Employers need to help professionals manage their workloads by reviewing training programmes and identifying the appropriate guidance. Regular training will improve workers’ skills, helping them cope with the growing demands of each assignment.’

December 2006