Longer Hours and Late Working 'More Common' - 01/08/2007
Research from officebroker.com has found that on the whole, more workers are doing unpaid overtime and staying at work for longer on average, prepared to put in the hours to deal with their workload or cover for colleagues.
It is thought that a culture of consumer dominance is a key contributing factor in this, with customers looking for goods and services at all times at their own convenience. Increased international networking has also been highlighted as a factor as many businesses step up their working relationship with foreign groups.
That said, another less practical motivating factor is that of impressing the boss, as many employees look to be seen to be working harder
by simply staying in the workplace longer. Jim Venables of officebroker.com argues that long hours do not necessarily mean more productivity.
"I believe that when people are working late on a regular basis, not only is there something wrong but also this is bad for business," he explains, according to Online Recruitment.
"People's productivity levels fall when they are tired, overworked or unhappy with their employment situation.
A YouGov survey for Croner found that 19 per cent of working adults do not take time out for lunch during the day, preferring to work through.
