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HR software provider , Ciphr , polled 1,000 UK workers to find out how much unpaid overtime , if any , they each worked on average . According to the findings , there are significantly more employees who work unpaid hours than employees who receive overtime pay ( 49 % compared to 23 %).

Among those who do regularly work unpaid overtime , the average time clocked up each week is just over three hours ( 184 minutes ). Over a five-day work week , that ’ s around 37 minutes extra per shift .

Around one in nine ( 11 %) of those surveyed are posting five additional , unpaid hours a week .

The employees most likely to work the longest extra hours unpaid include senior managers ( averaging 4.1 hours a week ), 25 – 34-year-olds ( 3.5 hours ), remote workers ( 3.5 hours ) and those working in legal services and education ( 4.1 hours and 3.9 hours respectively ).

While many people – particularly salaried employees – typically expect , and accept , a certain degree of unpaid work as being part of their role , few may be aware of the full extent of how those extra minutes ( over and above contracted hours ) can add up when unpaid work is done too frequently .

For example , most people would probably agree that working the equivalent of 18 additional days ( over 139 hours ) a year for free seems excessive . Yet , that ’ s what the average employee in Ciphr ’ s survey is likely to work , if they continue to put in three hours of unpaid overtime every week as reported .

Shortening or skipping lunch appears to be one of the most common ways that employees overwork . In the week that Ciphr ran its survey , only a third ( 36 %) of respondents had taken their full lunch break every day . Worryingly , as many as one in four ( 23 %) had barely taken their full lunch break off that week at all .

If this pattern of overworking , through breaks and after hours , is left unchecked long-term , it could negatively impact an individual ’ s health and well-being and cause stress and job burnout . It could also lead to employee resentment , especially if the unpaid overtime that is being worked isn ’ t being done voluntarily or doesn ’ t feel very voluntary due to big workloads , understaffing or unrealistic targets .

To help prevent overworking , it ’ s important to track how many extra minutes a day are actually being worked . Ciphr has devised a handy unpaid hours calculator , which employees can use to estimate how much time ( and how many work days ) they are potentially working in unpaid overtime a year .

Claire Williams , Chief People Officer at Ciphr , said : “ If an individual thinks they are doing too many unpaid hours , then it ’ s vital that they address this with their employer as soon as possible . Doing a bit of extra work occasionally is one thing – and it is relatively common practice to work additional hours , at times , to fulfil your role – but feeling like you ‘ have ’ to do that extra work regularly because it is being expected of you is quite another .” x

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