By Will Sturgeon, 26 February 2004 17:50
NEWS Hard-working UK employees are being urged to protest against long hours and unpaid overtime by taking the controversial action of actually working only their contracted hours this Friday.
While most workers in the UK sign a contract that would have them work around eight hours per day, in reality most are doing far more than that. Unsurprisingly, techies are among the hardest hit by this problem - working an average 9.3 unpaid hours per week on top of their contracted hours, according to TUC research.
This figure equates to almost 450 unpaid hours per year. For somebody on a wage of £25,000 this would be worth an extra £5,800 per year.
But it's not just a sense of being hard-done-by financially that put-upon workers are experiencing - for some it is even affecting their health.
TUC General Secretary Brendan Barber said: "TUC research shows that the general increase in workloads is a major factor in the increase in workplace stress."
And the reasons we find ourselves in this position include "under-staffing, over-loading, bad management and a lack of training for the job", according to Barber.
Many companies are also failing to replace staff shelved during the downturn - thinking that if 100 people now do the job 200 used to then why pay the extra wages - even if those 100 staff are burning themselves out trying to keep up.
And the picture of mismanagement stretches beyond staffing levels.
Barber said: "Managers expect more from staff but have not invested the resources in training or equipment for staff to be able to cope with their work comfortably."
For these reasons the TUC is urging workers to only do their contracted hours this Friday in order to highlight the extent to which they are giving 'something for nothing' to their employers.
However, the TUC is aware that such a strategy may not be practical in the long term as workers will naturally worry about the damage refusing to put in the hours could do their career prospects.
"This is why we're saying it's an employer's responsibility to make sure staff work proper hours," said Barber. "It isn't just a point about breaking the law on long hours. Bad managers are failing to ensure staff stick to their proper hours because it's easier to flog them than it is to raise the quality of working."
"And it's counterproductive," added Barber. "Tired workers don't work well or stay well."
Comments
There are 14 comments. Join the discussion
1. The Boss
Maybe we should make sure the employees actually work when they are in the office then, instead of faffing about and talking.
2. Colin Jenkins
I do fit into this category and I also wonder if one of the reasons why this happens is because "technical people" want to justify themselves at work. By getting in early and leaving late they will always be on hand. If they were not in and a problem occured which was resolved by someone else, the question would be do we need an IT person..?
3. Nigel Stanley
You can work out how much your unpaid overtime is worth and which day of the year you start to get paid at the TUC's world of work website: www.worksmart.org.uk
4. anonymous
This is an interesting article. I worked out recently that in the last 8 years with my comapny I have worked 10. I do not get paid for overtime, have recieved no training at all during this period, so all in all I think this is fairly acurate.
I work in the IT sector.
5. anonymous
Working only "contracted" hours for one day is not enough. It needs to be done for one week.
6. Chris
Anyone who thinks they are paving the way to career success by overworking is only fooling themselves. How do I know? Because I've been stupid enough to do it for almost all of my employers. At the time they express gratitude, and they talk about promotion and greater responsibilities. I often got the extra responsibilities but never anything else.
With my last employer, when I stopped working the extra hours for nothing, and talked about being paid for my time, guess what? Loads of bullying and harassment - that didn't work - so I was made "redundant". I suspect I'm now getting dubious employment references from them, and can't do a thing about it.
7. anonymous
I find it incredible that anyone actually thinks the response of an employer to "It's Work Your Hours Day, so I'm off" will be anything other than "Fine, pick up your cards on your way out".
Nobody hires or promotes a clockwatcher.
8. Steve Markham
time management on the macro scale would transform things- long overdue since UN
declined reform in 1958. The serious side of www.welcome.to/new.calendar shows how if we abolish the Mondays we don't like for a six day week length, we could work on a standard 8.5 hour day just 4 days a week yet achieve the same hours over the year as there are more weeks- and more & more frequent weekend refresh breaks too
9. anonymous
This is why I emigrated.
People should be rewarded for being efficient, being allocated their due and awarded appropriately. Not fed a bottomless pit of work.
They might faff less, if the end was a clearly marked line.
10. David Parsons
In reply to ‘The Boss’
It is so pleasing that you have grasped the important issue behind the article
I can see why you are the boss…….
Boy oh boy am I glad I don’t work for you.
11. Chris
Au contraire Mr Anon Database Administrator! You say "Nobody hires or promotes a clockwatcher." I've known many an incompetent, lazy clockwatcher get promoted. Mind you, "a*selicker" usually goes with "clockwatcher" I find...
12. The Engineer
The Boss - what a pratt!
Let's hope his staff all leave him 1 by 1 and he get's recognised for being a terrible manager by his own 'boss'.
On a positive note, if you do work extra unpaid hours, record them accurately on a weekly basis in an excel spreadsheet, and make sure your manager is made of aware of how much extra work you are doing when you have 1-1s or your annual performance review.
I have used this technique for a few years and it does pay off!
Better though not to work the extra hours in the first place.
13. The Engineer
The Boss - what a pratt!
Let's hope his staff all leave him 1 by 1 and he get's recognised for being a terrible manager by his own 'boss'.
On a positive note, if you do work extra unpaid hours, record them accurately on a weekly basis in an excel spreadsheet, and make sure your manager is made of aware of how much extra work you are doing when you have 1-1s or your annual performance review.
I have used this technique for a few years and it does pay off!
Better though not to work the extra hours in the first place.
14. Braders
Solution to all those of you that dont get rewarded for working long hours - opt into the contracting side and make sure you get paid by the hour - that way, the more hours you're expected to work, the more you get paid and if your employer cant afford to pay you, you dont work the extra hours!