Released On 30 January 2020
The LSE’s Consultation on Trading Hours – we offer our view
Tomorrow, the London Stock Exchange (LSE) will close its Consultation on Market Structure and Trading Hours, in which it asked for views on a proposed reduction in trading hours. The consultation recognised that among the benefits of a change were that it could help “encourage staff diversity” and have a “positive impact on mental wellbeing of staff”. The LSE asked its members for its views on a series of options for shortening the current 8am-4.30pm trading day by up to 90 minutes.
The consultation followed a proposal published by the Association for Financial Markets in Europe (AFME) and the Investment Association (IA), which was for European exchanges to review trading hours with the aim of benefiting market structure and improving wellbeing, culture and diversity across their member firms.
Louisa Symington-Mills, Founder and CEO of Cityparents Ltd shared her views on the consultation in the announcement from the IA and AFME today which accompanies their response to the consultation. In it, she said:
“Our members tell us that the long working days which are typical of City businesses have a negative impact on mental wellbeing and work life balance, especially when coupled with the demands of family life. With dual career couples increasingly common, home responsibilities are more equally shared between parents and the traditional working day often jars with family needs. We are supportive of a reduction of trading hours, which would accelerate progress in the adjustment of City working cultures to modern life and we look forward to the outcome of the consultation.”
Each year in its annual survey, Cityparents asks its members about their experience of balancing a meaningful home life with a progressive City career and the impact of intense working environments upon City professionals’ mental and physical wellbeing was a prominent theme in the 2019 findings. Some 44% of survey respondents rated their mental wellbeing as only ‘fair’ or ‘poor’. Further, when stress levels are at their highest, 58% said that personal relationships suffer, 54% find it difficult to sleep well and 30% believe they are more likely to make a mistake at work.
Helen Beedham, Director at Cityparents and Cityworks explains:
“Forward-thinking organisations understand that there is a direct link between fostering a more inclusive working culture and an employer’s ability to recruit and retain talent. They are focused on creating productive working environments where flexibility is encouraged around some core parameters, in this case trading hours. This flexibility will allow talent to flourish and develop in a supportive and dynamic working culture.”
You can read the press release from the IA and AFME here.