In the six decades of work since Queen Elizabeth II took the throne, work continues to be a central part of everyday life for people in the UK. However, it has changed in ways that probably could not have been imagined.
Despite the worst economic recession in the Queen's reign, there are still millions more people in work today than in 1952, and working life in Britain has been shaped by the interaction of a number of economic and social forces.
In the year of the Queen's Diamond Jubilee, The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development considers the changing landscape of work in the UK and the phenomena that have shaped it, including: the changing gender balance; the effects of de-industrialization and the rise of the service economy; and shifts in occupational structure. It makes interesting reading.
Amongst the findings: the volume of work being undertaken in Britain today (by 6 million more workers) (920 million hours each week), is roughly equivalent to the number worked in 1952; however, the value of output of the economy is around four times greater, so the employed workforce has become much more productive, enabling the country to enjoy a much higher level of income for the same amount of work. While Britons are working much smarter and less hard than in the 1950s, their present output per hour worked is 16% lower than in France, 18% lower than in Germany and 23% lower than in the United States.
Graphic: The Daily Mail
Source: The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development
Comments