The average manager in the UK is working 40 days more than their contractual requirements, research from the Chartered Management Institute (CMI) has suggested.
The CMI survey, which polled over 1,500 managers, found that almost 90% of managers regularly work over their contracted hours on average for one hour and 18 minutes daily. The research shows that this is rarely by choice; the majority of respondents reported working extended hours in order to combat the increasing volume of work they face.
A large number of managers blame the UK’s culture of long working hours and say that the repercussions are far reaching, both in and out of the workplace. Almost half of respondents argue that working excessive hours hits office productivity and over two thirds say that extended hours in the workplace leaves less time for exercise and other personal activities.
When asked about their reasoning for working long hours the response was varied. A mere 2% claimed to feel ‘pressurised to do it’ and 3% said it was ‘to get ahead’.
The CMI’s Quality of Working Life report also discovered that 16% of women in senior positions work over 48 hours per week compared to 35% of men.
This latest research supports the TUC’s call to employees to work only their contracted hours. TUC has named Friday 22 February 'Work Your Proper Hours Day' claiming that if employees did all their unpaid overtime at the start of the year, 22 February would be the first day they would get paid.
© Crimson Business Ltd. 2008
