Burnt out Brits are working 66 million overtime hours each week for free

OnePulse, the UK’s leading opinion app, has today revealed that UK employees are working an additional 66 million hours* of overtime each week without being compensated.

The ‘Work it Out’ Report, commissioned by OnePulse and published as part of National Work Life Week (3-7 Oct 2016) asked 2000 UK-based employees for their honest opinion on their work-life balance, which has presented some harsh realities.

Each week 70% of UK employees are working an average of 8.73 hours’ overtime, and 43% will not be paid for their time – amounting to approximately 66 million unpaid hours of work. The research shows that 50% of employees feel stressed and tired at work, with only a quarter stating they feel happy and valued in the workplace.

Employees who took part in the research claimed overtime includes working through their lunch break (71%) and after hours (79%). More than a third of UK-based employees say they are not able to take their full annual leave entitlement due to excessive workload (37%).

A large majority of those who took part (93%) said they would prefer to work longer days for four days a week (10.5 hours) and have a three-day weekend. The majority of UK-based employees say their weekend is spent recuperating from their busy working week, leaving little energy to do ‘out of work’ activities (66%).

So, how are employees being compensated for working overtime?

• 46% receive no compensation
• 28% receive extra pay
• 13% receive time off in lieu
• 13% are offered flexible hours.

Nick Walter, OnePulse Chief Marketing Officer comments: “As both an employer and an employee, work-life balance is always an interesting debate. The real issue here is the taboo nature of working overtime today. Since the start of the UK financial crisis in 2008, there was a nervousness among employees, who were urged to up their game to keep their jobs – and this is the hangover; who is going to speak out?

“Simultaneously, the rise of ‘bring your own device’ (BYOD) into the workplace and innovations in digital technology and improved access to high-speed internet, ‘work’ is no longer only possible in the office – work is everywhere we turn.

“We created OnePulse for this reason entirely – a chance for the nation to speak out on issues that are not acceptable around the water cooler.”

*70% of the total UK workforce (23.25 million) do an average of 8.73 hours’ overtime = 154 million hours (and 43% of 154 million = 66 million)