51 Hours a Week: Work-Life Balance and Employee Satisfaction in Independent Audit

Findings of a survey of 140 audit professionals

NAZ ÇAKMAK AKGÖZ · FOUNDING PARTNER, NEF FORTIS · NOVEMBER 2026 · READING TIME: 6 MIN

Why did we ask this question?

Independent audit is a profession whose calendar is largely set from outside. Year-end closings, general assembly dates and tax return deadlines compress a large part of the work into a few months of the year. In these periods, longer working hours reduce the time employees have for family, social life and themselves.

International studies show that this is not merely a human resources issue. Khavis and Krishnan (2021) examined some 19,700 employee reviews of 137 audit firms and found that audit quality was higher at firms where employees rated work-life balance more favourably. Al-Qatamin and Shahbudin (2026) proposed a framework linking auditors’ work-life balance and job stress to behaviours that reduce audit quality.

Studies specific to the audit sector in Türkiye are limited. In this article, I summarise the findings of the master’s term project I completed at the Department of Business Administration, Ahmet Yesevi University.

How was the research conducted?

Data were collected in 2026 through a voluntary online survey of 140 people working at independent audit firms operating in different provinces of Türkiye. Of the respondents, 45.7% held the title of auditor, 30% senior auditor and 24.3% manager; 44.3% were women and 55.7% men.

Work-life balance and employee satisfaction were measured on five-point Likert scales using two instruments validated in Turkish (Baycan, 1985, for job satisfaction). Scores range from 1 to 5; a higher score indicates a more favourable perception. The analyses used t-tests, ANOVA and Pearson correlation, with a significance level of 0.05.

Finding 1: Balance and satisfaction decline as working hours increase

The most striking result of the study concerns weekly working hours. Only 12.9% of respondents reported working 40 hours or less a week, while 47.1% reported working 51 hours or more. For comparison: under Article 63 of Labour Law No. 4857, weekly working time is, as a general rule, at most 45 hours (subject to the provisions on averaging and overtime).

Table 1. Mean scores by weekly working hours (1–5). Group differences are statistically significant (p < 0.05).

The difference between those working 40 hours or less and those working 51 hours or more is 0.76 points for work-life balance and 0.68 points for satisfaction. On a five-point scale, this is not a small difference.

Finding 2: Balance and satisfaction move together

A strong, positive and significant relationship was found between work-life balance and employee satisfaction (r = 0.68; p < 0.01). Employees who rate the balance between their work and private life favourably are also more satisfied with their working conditions and their firms.

This result is consistent with findings in other sectors. Susanto et al. (2022) reported that work-life balance had a positive effect on the job satisfaction of SME employees, and Henriques and Samagaio (2024), in a study of 322 auditors in Portugal, reported that job satisfaction was positively associated with auditors’ job performance.

Finding 3: The early years of the profession are the hardest

Scores rise steadily with title, experience and age. The lowest values were seen among employees in their first five years in the profession and those holding the auditor title.

Table 2. Mean scores by title and professional experience (1–5). All group differences are significant (p < 0.05).

One possible explanation is that employees gain more control over their work schedule as they become more senior. Auditors, who carry most of the fieldwork and busy-season hours, are the group with the least of this flexibility. In a study of 171 professionals in Türkiye, Erten (2018) found that role ambiguity and perceived workload were the factors that most reduced job satisfaction; this points to the importance of clear job descriptions and workload planning in the early years.

Finding 4: Differences by gender and marital status

In this sample, women scored significantly higher than men on work-life balance (3.42 vs 3.18) and satisfaction (3.67 vs 3.39), and married employees scored significantly higher than single employees (balance 3.43 vs 3.14; satisfaction 3.58 vs 3.31).

These findings should be interpreted with care. In a study of remote workers, Has and Bal (2024) found higher job satisfaction among women but no significant gender difference in work-life balance. Such differences may vary by sector, sample and measurement instrument; testing them with larger samples would be useful.

What does this mean for audit firms?

The findings suggest that practices supporting work-life balance are valuable both for employees and for the quality of the work. The main points are:

1. Planning the busy season in advance. Spreading interim audit work across the year and setting team capacity before the season can reduce the share of weeks exceeding 50 hours.
2. Focusing on the early years. Mentoring, clear job descriptions and regular feedback directly target the group with the lowest scores.
3. Considering flexible working options. Henriques and Samagaio (2024) reported that remote working did not generally change the relationships examined and that audit firms can offer remote working without necessarily reducing quality.
4. Measuring regularly. Tracking employees’ perceptions of workload and satisfaction through short, regular surveys allows problems to be identified before the season ends.

Limitations of the study

The study used a correlational survey design; it shows relationships between variables but does not establish cause and effect. The sample is limited to 140 people and is not probability-based, and the data rely on respondents’ self-reports. Testing the findings with larger and different samples would strengthen the generalisability of the results.

This article is based on the author’s non-thesis master’s term project titled “Work-Life Balance and Employee Satisfaction in Independent Audit Firms” (2026), prepared at the Department of Business Administration, Ahmet Yesevi University, under the supervision of Asst. Prof. Dr. Kadir Özer.

References

• Al-Qatamin, K. I., & Shahbudin, A. S. M. (2026). Auditors’ work–life balance and stress: Implications for reduced audit quality behaviours. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 16(1), 1024–1038. https://doi.org/10.6007/IJARBSS/v16-i1/27523
• Baycan, F. A. (1985). An analysis of the several aspects of job satisfaction between different occupational groups [Master’s thesis]. Boğaziçi University.
• Erten, M. (2018). Bağımsız denetçilerde rol belirsizliği, rol çatışması ve algılanan iş yükünün iş tatmini üzerindeki etkisi [The effect of role ambiguity, role conflict and perceived workload on the job satisfaction of independent auditors] [Master’s thesis]. Işık University.
• Has, A. F., & Bal, Y. (2024). Uzaktan çalışan bireylerin iş tatmini ve iş-yaşam dengesi üzerinde demografik faktörlerin etkisi. Ekonomi, İşletme ve Maliye Araştırmaları Dergisi, 6(2), 142–168. https://doi.org/10.38009/ekimad.1479252
• Henriques, C. S., & Samagaio, A. (2024). Impact of stress, job satisfaction, work–life balance and telework on auditors’ job performance: A PLS-SEM and fsQCA approach. Journal of Organizational Effectiveness: People and Performance. https://doi.org/10.1108/JOEPP-03-2024-0135
• Khavis, J. A., & Krishnan, J. (2021). Employee satisfaction and work-life balance in accounting firms and audit quality. Auditing: A Journal of Practice & Theory, 40(2), 161–192. https://doi.org/10.2308/AJPT-18-029
• Khavis, J. A., Krishnan, J., & Tipton, C. (2022). Implications of employee satisfaction and work-life balance in accounting firms. Current Issues in Auditing, 16(1), P16–P26. https://doi.org/10.2308/CIIA-2021-006
• Susanto, P., Hoque, M. E., Jannat, T., Emely, B., Zona, M. A., & Islam, M. A. (2022). Work-life balance, job satisfaction, and job performance of SMEs employees: The moderating role of family-supportive supervisor behaviors. Frontiers in Psychology, 13, 906876. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.906876
• Labour Law No. 4857, Art. 63. Official Gazette, 10.06.2003, No. 25134. https://www.mevzuat.gov.tr/mevzuat?MevzuatNo=4857&MevzuatTur=1&MevzuatTertip=5
• Regulation on Working Hours under the Labour Law, Art. 4. Ministry of Labour and Social Security. https://csgb.gov.tr/Media/xzsazpw2/iş-kanununa-ilişkin-çalışma-süreleri-yönetmeliği.pdf

For information purposes only. This article is provided for general information and does not constitute professional opinion or advice. It is an English translation of the original Turkish article; in case of any discrepancy, the Turkish version prevails.

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