Nearly a third (31.5%) of advice professionals are working more than a standard 35-40 hour week but doing so is having a negative impact on their work-life balance.
New research by intelliflo, part of its 2026 Adviser Lifestyle Index, asked respondents to score their work-life balance between 1 and 5, with 5 denoting ‘very good.’ Those who worked 35-40 hours per week scored an average 3.61 out of 5, but this fell to 3.27 for those working 41-48 hours and 2.90 for those working 49 hours or more.
Intelliflo said many of the extra hours are spent on administration, with separate research by the firm showing that of the average 9.2 hours it takes to guide one client through the advice process, two thirds are spent away from the client.
However, intelliflo said technology adoption was having a positive impact on advice professionals. Four fifths (80%) of respondents say technology has made a significant or moderate improvement to their work-life balance. Those who report that it has made a significant improvement also rate their work-life balance higher at 3.75 than those who feel little or no benefit (3.23).
When asked what they would do with time freed up by technology, more than a third (35%) say they would reclaim personal time and 21% would use it to reduce their core working hours. A quarter (25%) cited growing their client base or business.
Richard Wake, chief operating officer at intelliflo, said: “The research shows that almost a third of the profession is working more than 40 hours a week, and much of that time goes on admin rather than advising clients.
“Technology is changing that. Firms that put it to work are saving hours on every client, and they can reinvest that time in their business, whether that’s serving more clients, deepening relationships or developing their teams. And whether advisers put those hours back into their business or their lives, the choice becomes theirs. The right technology lets them take their time back.”
