Growing weary of the rat race, Britons 'downshift'

"The bigger picture is that people want a better quality of life, spending time on the things we like and with the people we like," he adds. "A lot of downshifters have children and are reassessing their values."

Prudential, meanwhile, said in its research that people downshifted to seek a better quality of life, to spend more time with family, to use untapped skills, to seek a safer life for their children, to obviate work stress, and to avoid tiresome commutes.

For Newbery, the retreat from highly paid work into teaching has brought with it a dramatic change in lifestyle. New clothes, fashion haircuts, and Starbucks coffee are all rare treats now rather than the norm.

But these limitations are more than compensated for by her newfound freedom, she says. No longer does she have to work through weekends or miss family birthdays or make her home in foreign hotels.

"I've got more energy now and love what I do," she says. "I'm not as well off as I was, but if you don't have the latest pair of trousers or the latest haircut, does it matter?"

It's not just Britain that is downshifting. The trend is also advancing across Western Europe. Datamonitor says that there are an estimated 12 million downshifters in Europe, up from 9.3 million in 1997.

But Britain is perhaps the most fertile soil for people looking to downshift, because of the country's ingrained culture of long working hours. Britain is the only country that has opted out of European Union rules capping the legal working week at 48 hours. In theory, British firms are supposed to offer their staff a choice, but in practice most are gently cajoled into working late.

As a result, more than 3 million British men now work more than 48 hours a week. It's a trend that is ringing alarm bells in Brussels, where EU social affairs commissioner Anna Diamantopolou said that the issue of working hours needs to be addressed again amid fears that EU rules are being circumvented by bosses, particularly in Britain. Union leaders say the long-hours culture is resulting in the kind of fatigue and burn out that drives people to downshift, or worse.

"Increasing numbers of people suffer from burnout and other ailments and take long periods of sick leave and early retirement due to ill health," says Kevin Curran, general secretary of the GMB labor union.

Not everyone's a downshifter, though. Researchers say millions of people will never want to break away from the comfort zone of work or step off the career ladder. Loss of status, lack of cash, and a surfeit of free time can be terrifying for some. Some who have made the break subsequently changed back again, unable to deal with life in the slow lane.

"Compared to the broad population, the number of downshifters is still a low percentage," says Mr. Nosalik. "Most people just can't afford to, or it's too much of a risk, or their patterns of behavior are just too ingrained."

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