- One in five of us working more than eight hours overtime every week
- Only half of all UK staff get paid for working extra hours
- Nearly 84% happy to work overtime
23% of UK staff work more than eight hours of overtime per week. What’s more, only half of those who work overtime get paid for it, representing a £19billion saving for UK employers.
We asked more than 1,000 UK jobseekers about their working habits to find out how many extra hours we put in and how we really feel about overtime.
The vast majority of us work longer than our contracts demand, with four out of five workers admitting to working some form of overtime. Almost half of all UK employees work four hours overtime or more every week, which adds up to around 192 hours extra worked every year – over 21 full working days per person. Once again, half of this is unpaid.
But why are so many of us prepared to work extra hours without getting paid for it?
The majority of those surveyed attribute their extra hours to workload demands. And whilst other explanations include staff shortages (19%), and financial pressures (11%), 59% felt their professional responsibilities obliged them to stay in the office after hours.
Furthermore, it seems as though none of this extra time is having an adverse effect on office morale.
Three quarters of us don’t think we work too many hours, and an overwhelming 85% don’t mind working overtime.
Mark Rhodes, Marketing Director at reed.co.uk comments:
‘This is yet more evidence of how hard the UK works. The extent to which people are prepared to work extra hours to get the job done is a positive reflection of our attitude to work and testament to how much we value our jobs.
This is great news for employers although businesses should always be cautious of becoming over reliant on the heroic efforts of those members of staff who are always prepared and able to go the extra mile’.
