Survey: Heavy Workloads Affecting Financial Folks

Accounting and finance professionals are feeling the pressure of heavy workloads, according to a new Accountemps survey. Thirty-five percent of chief financial officers (CFOs) interviewed said heavy workloads are the number-one workplace concern for their financial teams. Coming in second was job security, with 19%.

The survey was developed by Accountemps, the world's first and largest specialized staffing service for temporary accounting, finance, and bookkeeping professionals, and conducted by an independent research firm. It was based on telephone interviews with more than 1400 CFOs across the United States.

Executives were asked: Which one of the following do you think is the greatest source of work-related concerns for finance and accounting professionals?

Their responses:

• Heavy workloads - 35%
• Job security - 19%
• Corporate governance mandates/compliance issues - 17%
• Personnel issues (coworker conflicts, office politics) - 14%
• Work/life balance issues - 11%
• None of these - 2%
• Other/Don't Know - 2%

"The combination of compliance mandates, traditional projects and shifting priorities has challenged accounting and finance professionals to keep up with their growing workloads," said Max Messmer, chairman and CEO of Robert Half International and author of "Human Resources Kit for Dummies: Second Edition." "The problem is further compounded by a shortage of highly skilled candidates in many specialties."

Survey Shows Tuesdays are "Most Productive"

Want to get something done? Wait until Tuesday.

According to an Accountemps survey, more than half (57 percent) of executives polled said employees are generally most productive on Tuesday, up 9 points from a similar survey conducted five years ago.

Monday was the second most popular answer, although only 12 percent ranked it as their top day in terms of productivity.

The national poll included responses from 150 senior executives from the nation's 1,000 largest companies.

"In addition to serving as a 'catch-up' day after the weekend, Monday is when many regularly scheduled meetings occur, which can decrease the time available to complete tasks," said Max Messmer, chairman of Accountemps and author of Managing Your Career for Dummies. "Many view Tuesday as an opportunity to focus their efforts and establish momentum for the rest of the week."