The average UK worker (36.7%) puts in over 13 extra working days a year, with two thirds (64%) admitting that they often work more than their contracted hours. What’s more, as many as one in four (24.8%) could be working an extra 34 days! That’s according to recent data from CV-Library.
The study explored average working hours across the UK, and whether the traditional 9-5 still exists. The research revealed that over half (58.6%) of workers believe that the traditional 9-5 is an outdated concept, with the majority (49%) agreeing that this is because mobile working options mean people can work from anywhere at any time. Other key findings include:
- Only one third (35.6%) of UK professionals still work a traditional 9-5 day
- Worryingly, as many as one in 10 (9.3%) work the full seven days in a week
- And despite 86.5% believing that every business should offer flexible working, nearly three quarters (72.7%) said they still don’t have option to work from home
The survey also explored the topic of other countries trialling out shorter working hours, for example, Sweden trialling six hour days to see if this would increase staff productivity. The survey from CV-Library found that three quarters (76.7%) of UK professionals think that a four day working week would be beneficial to them; with over a third (39.9%) agreeing it would make staff more productive. Not only this but 24.7% believe it will allow them more time to enjoy their private life, relax and unwind (14.8%).
That said, one in four (23.3%) didn’t agree that a shorter working week would be more beneficial as fitting your workload into four days could be stressful (38.8%). Not only this but a third (33%) believe that businesses could suffer as a result of being closed an extra day.
Commentary
Whilst this issue appears to be impacting all age groups we would be concerned at young people within the work place perhaps inexperienced and not as confident as raising issues and knowing when is ok to stop working. At Youth Employment UK we advocate youth friendly practice, based on 5 principles of youth friendly employment we ask organisations to work through our Talent Match Mark levels to not only encourage more young people in to work but to work through our platinum level mark. The Platinum level mark is a comprehensive structure accredited by Goldsmiths, University of London.
Lee Biggins, founder and managing director of CV-Library , comments: “It’s become clear from the data that UK workers are putting in too much overtime. It’s concerning to learn that up to one in 10 are even working seven days a week! Being overworked can lead to burnout, as well as having many other negative implications for the wellbeing of workers. Though technology may be great for enabling flexible working, it could also be disturbing the work-life balance of the nation’s professionals as they continue to do work related tasks outside of office hours.
“For this reason it’s vital that employers are encouraging staff to get the right balance. Putting in the odd bit of overtime every now and then may be necessary, but as a general rule workers should be switching off at the end of the day, and taking time to re-charge before returning to work the next day. Overworked staff will operate at lower levels of productivity, so it is in the interest of employers and staff alike to ensure that they encourage a good work-life balance.”
Next steps:
- Read more about the Talent Match Mark and youth friendly employment here
- Find out all the benefits of joining Youth Employment UK as a Community Member
- If you are a young person looking to develop your skills or explore careers join our Young Professional Membership here
