One of the giants of US insurance, MetLife, which also has offices here in the UK in both Brighton and London, has fallen under the spotlight in its home country amid allegations from former employees that they regularly worked 45-60 hours a week without compensation (see article). However, while the events stateside may seem a long way from home, it does raise the question as to just how much overtime you’re working?
“Too much,” appears to be the answer.
A recent study from TotallyMoney.com investigated just how much overtime Brits are working and found that the average amount equates to an additional 68 working days per year.
It discovered that 60% of British workers believe they do not have a good work-life balance and, even more worryingly, 65% of people surveyed aren’t being paid for their overtime work, while only a third said they get to leave work on time.
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The study revealed that 43% of men say they are paid for their overtime, compared to just 30% of women; while regionally, Londoners do the most overtime among any region at an average of 9.6 hours a week.
In addition, British employees are reported to work the longest hours in Europe – with the shortest lunch breaks and the fewest public holidays.
For employers, it may be a false economy too, as the same analysis showed that longer hours cannot only have a negative impact on health but can actually lead to workers being less productive.
So now we want to ask you – how much overtime do you work in a typical week in the insurance sector? Do you believe your work-life balance is not ideal? Leave a comment with your thoughts.
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