Work is "eating" increasingly bigger chunks out of the Australian lifestyle, says the ACTU following the release of a new workforce study backed by three states.
The union survey, which took in the views of more than 2,800 Australian workers, found more than half (54 per cent) reported they often had too much work for one person to manage.
A third said their supervisors expected them to put work ahead of personal life, and 75 per cent said they would be happy to take a pay cut to work fewer hours.
The study was funded by the Australian Research Council and the South Australian, WA and Victorian governments.
ACTU president Sharan Burrow said the study confirmed a worrying rise in "work intensification" - the feeling that work was becoming harder and less compatible with everyday life.
"The feeling of being stressed from managing long hours of work and the intensification of work, and balancing home and community life, is increasing," Ms Burrow said today.
"The figures show overwhelmingly that people want to work less but are unable through either their capacity to meet bills - price pressures - or indeed the choices available at work."
The survey found women ideally wanted to work 35 hours a week, which is three hours short of the norm.
It also found men preferred to work 38 hours a week, but almost one in three were working 48 hours or more.
The deterioration of the work-life balance was more pronounced at the bottom and top of the pay scale with those earning less than $30,000 a year or more than $90,000 complaining of feeling more work-related pressures.
"There is widespread mismatch between the hours that Australian workers have to work and those they want to work," the report says.
Despite the common experience of feeling rushed at work, 68 per cent of workers said they were happy with their work-life balance.
However, the one in three that were not were more likely to be mothers, professionals, managers and people who worked in information technology, the media and mining.
The survey was conducted during March and April.
Initial results were published by Fairfax today while the full report is to be officially released on Tuesday.
Ms Burrow also said that while many people wanted to work less, the rising cost of living meant this often was impossible.
"There's no doubt that both partners in family households are working longer hours, feeling stressed that they have got more cost pressures, but also that they have less time," she said.
"Working people are working more and longer hours, and it is eating their lives in terms of a work-family or work-life balance."
