Long Hours Hurt Biz And Families
Overtime is overdue an overhaul, according to our top Best Companies, who are keen to buck the worrying trend of working extra hours. Did you work overtime last week and is it a regular occurrence? Do you find yourself constantly going into work early and getting home too late to have dinner with your partner, see the kids or make it to social engagements?
Best Companies research shows that too many people are working far longer than is good for their health or their company’s productivity. Analysis of the overtime put in by employees of all organisations entering the competition over the past four years shows that, although there has been a fall in the number of people working up to 10 more hours than they are contracted to (a third of people do this), there has been a rise in the numbers of staff doing well over that.
The statistics show that more than one in 10 workers are putting in between 10 and 20 hours of overtime a week, while just over 2% of staff do between 20 and 30 hours over their contracted weekly hours. And the numbers putting in more than 30 hours extra has increased to 0.5%.
“Half a per cent may not sound like much but, across all workers in the UK, it would equate to 150,000 people,” says Dr Pete Bradon, head of research at Best Companies Ltd. “This data is very worrying when you consider the effects of overtime on people’s lives.”
Of the top 10 firms whose staff work the least overtime across the Best Companies lists of small, mid-sized and big businesses, several involve employees working in people-focused jobs. When someone feels overworked, their sunny disposition is often the first thing to go. In a job where a lot rests on a smile, overtime has an effect on customer satisfaction. Continue reading.
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