If overtime means better pay at the end of the month, that has consequences for your health! Especially since these hours don’t always equate to efficiency.
Around 40% of office workers regularly work overtime. This comes from a study conducted by the discussion application Slack among around 10,333 workers living in the United States, Australia, France, Germany, Japan and the United Kingdom, surveyed between August 24 and September 15, 2023 became.
Fatigue, exhaustion… When overtime is harmful to your health
Contrary to popular belief, people who stay in the office in the evenings are not the most efficient. Especially since 50% of those surveyed feel obliged to do so. The latter tend to be more stressed and dissatisfied than those who respect their working hours. However, the researchers did not observe any negative effects on well-being or productivity among those who voluntarily worked overtime.
According to a 2004 U.S. Department of Health and Human Services report, working more than 10 hours per day increases the risk of cardiovascular problems by 60%. Weeks longer than 40 hours force the worker to consume more alcohol and tobacco and result in abnormal weight gain. Researchers also observed an increased risk of depression when employees exceeded the threshold of 11 hours of overtime per week.
Breaks would increase employee productivity by 13%
These workers are twice as likely to feel overworked. This can lead to fatigue and a feeling of physical and moral exhaustion… all elements that lead to a general decline in productivity. According to Slack’s study, employees who feel obligated to work overtime are actually 20% less efficient during their workday. On the contrary, breaks would increase employee productivity by 13%, the report said. “Focused time, collaboration time, connection and rest are like the macronutrients of a workday,” emphasizes David Air, senior vice president of employee success at Slack.
In detail, one in four employees believes that they spend too much time in meetings. A feeling that we find above all among managers and especially among senior executives (55%). 25% of workers also believe they spend too much time sending or responding to emails. A time quantified by a LiveCareer survey that estimates office workers spend more than three weeks or even a month sorting their work mailboxes each year.