Is it worth working for nothing?

Would you work 40 days a year for nothing? Probably not, unless you had a job you truly loved and could afford to forego the financial rewards. However, a new survey suggests that the average British manager works 40 days of unpaid overtime per year.

Data released today by the Chartered Management Institute suggests that UK managers are putting in too many hours, for too few returns. The figures, which come from a report looking at the ‘Quality of Working Life’ in the UK, have been issued in support of the TUC’s ‘Work Your Proper Hours’ campaign.

Based on the views of 1,511 managers, the report indicates that efforts to reduce working hours in recent years have failed to have a positive impact. Some of the key findings of the study include:

• 89 per cent of managers regularly work over their contracted hours – a figure that has barely fallen since 2000 (91 per cent)

• the average manager works 1 hour 18 minutes over contract each day – equivalent to roughly 40 days per year, or 184 million days each year for the UK’s management population

• only 1 in 3 work excess hours by choice. Most (54 per cent) do so to meet deadlines or because of the volume of work they face

• 45 per cent believe that the UK’s long hours culture affects their productivity and 40 per cent argue that working excessively hits morale

• on a personal level, 68 per cent also say that working over contracted hours limits exercise time and nearly half (48 per cent) claim extra hours prevent them from developing skills

The ‘Quality of Working Life’ report also indicates that Britain’s long-hours culture is not down to over-bearing bosses. Asked why they worked over contract, only 2 per cent claimed to be ‘pressurised to do it’ and just 3 per cent suggested it was ‘to get ahead’.

Looking at those in full-time employment, the report also shows that women are more able to control their workload. Only 16 per cent of women, compared to 35 per cent of men, work over 48 hours per week and just 3 per cent of female respondents admitted to working in excess of 60 hours each week, compared to 7 per cent of men.

Friday 22 Feb 2008 has been nominated by the TUC as the Work Your Proper Hours Day, where employees are encouraged to:

- Arrive on time, not early
- Take a proper lunchbreak
- Leave on time, not late

The tutor2u office is, of course, not immune to the long hours culture. Often the staff will be in early, if only to grab the remaining stocks of Jaffa Cakes before I arrive. To recognise Work Your Proper Hours Day, we’ll be decamping to the local village wine bar for a team briefing before finishing work an hour or two early after Friday lunchtime.