Quality of life and health losing out to redundancy fears warns report
OVERTIME has become the norm for around 50% of employees since the financial crisis began, according to research.
A study by BT Business shows that more than a third of Brits feel compelled to work more than their contracted hours every week with most working an average of seven hours extra per week.
The findings also show a clear gender split with men more likely to be putting in the extra hours. More than two thirds of men (66%) stated they are working over the recommended 48 hour week.
Around a third (37%) of the 4,000 survey respondents are putting in extra hours to cope with growing workloads.
Colleagues being made redundant (41%) and a renewed focus by companies on improving customer service (35%) were cited as the top two reasons for this.
Bill Murphy, managing director, BT Business, said: “These findings reflect the length that employees are willing to go to, to keep Britain’s economy afloat.
“Employers should look to match these efforts by equipping staff with what they need to become more efficient. Financial incentives may not be an option, but companies should consider how working practices can eliminate wasted time and boost productivity.”
However, the study also revealed a drastic change in office atmosphere with 37% of workers saying there is less laughter in the workplace and greater pressure on performance.
Nearly half of respondents believe that flexitime would help to create a better working experience.
Workers showed a clear willingness to go that extra mile to impress the boss with 43% of respondents admiting to being motivated to work harder to keep their jobs.
Nearly 35% admited to turning up earlier for work while a similar number said they were being more proactive and have generally pulled up their socks to keep in the bosses good books.
But the erosion of a healthy work/life balance and added stress is having an impact on relationships and health.
Middle managers appear to be feeling the most strain with workers earning between £41,000 and £51,000 a year the most likely to be working overtime since the financial crisis began.
One in ten people would consider taking a slight pay cut to keep one of their colleagues from being made redundant while 40% plan to look for a new job when the recession eases.
One in five people said they would prefer to work for a smaller business, set-up on their own or take a second job citing a change in view on what would make an ideal role for them
Most people said that their management had offered changes to staff with 18% of respondents saying they had been offered part-time work, one in 10 sabbaticals or asked to work for free for a period of time. Nearly a third had been asked to change job description.
