Do we work too hard in the UK?

Anna Scott

More than 5.4 million workers across the UK put in about £640m worth of unpaid overtime in 2013, according to the TUC. This equates to 21% of the UK workforce.

This is an increase of 331,000 people from the year before, which marks the biggest annual rise since comparable records began in 1998.

The trade union body released the figures to mark its annual Work Your Proper Hours day in which it calls on employees to take proper lunch breaks and leave work on time. Managers are also encouraged to lead by example.

These figures suggest that in the UK we work among the longest hours in Europe. We work on average 1,625 hours a year, compared to 1,413 in Germany and 1,476 in France, according to the OECD Better Life Index.

Yet we are not the most productive country by any means. The UK’s productivity rate is 21% lower than the average rate across the rest of the G7 countries, including Germany and France.

By now it’s clear that being productive does not mean working long hours. Highly skilled workers deploying better technology can see productivity levels increase.

In the UK however there appears to be still a strong culture of presenteeism that takes a monumental effort to shift, particularly during and immediately after a long period in which employees’ job futures are uncertain.

The TUC is calling on organisations to employ more people if they are needed, rather than reinforcing a culture in which people work extra hours for free.

In situations where this is just not possible, often the recognition of extra work undertaken by employees will go a long way to keeping them motivated and happy to stay at the company.

But as working long hours isn’t necessarily productive or sustainable, employers need to take a much longer-term approach to creating a culture in which time at work is about quality, not quantity.