Work Your Proper Hours Day, Friday 24th Feb 2017
Housing staff work well over contractual hours
Work Your Proper Hours Day, Friday 24th Feb 2017, is the day when the average person who does unpaid overtime finishes the unpaid days they do every year, and starts earning for themselves. We think that's a day worth celebrating.
Surveys in the housing sector have repeatedly shown that staff work well over their official hours - as well as suffering increasing stress problems. We will report more on our sector later this week.
Over five million people at work in the UK regularly do unpaid overtime, giving their employers £31.5 billion of free work last year. If you're one, why not take some time to reflect on how well (or badly) you're balancing your life? The TUC estimates that if all the unpaid overtime worked by the average employee were put together at the start of the year, it would be until mid-February before they started to be paid. This is marked by Work Your Proper Hours Day and is one day in the year to make the most of your own time.
Longest hours in Europe
Workers in the UK currently work the longest hours in Europe, take the shortest lunch breaks and enjoy the fewest public holidays. Childcare is expensive and difficult to find, care for older people is of inconsistent quality and financial support during family-related leave is lower than in some other parts of Europe. The quest for higher productivity and the long hours' culture limit the effects of improved rights and can undermine equal opportunities policies.
The TUC's campaign highlights the need for workers to have a good worklife balance and encourages workers to take a proper lunchbreak and leave work on time. Long hours are not good for us; they cause stress; they're bad for our health; they wreck relationships; they make caring for children or dependents more difficult; and tired, burnt-out workersare bad for business.
The TUC are not saying that we should turn into a nation of clock watchers. They recognise that few people mind putting in extra effort from time to time when it is needed. But they do highlight how easily this extra time can be taken for granted and expected day in day out.
So this annual campaign promotes worklife balance. Leave work on time. Catch up with a friend, go to the movies, take a stroll down the park or surprise your family by getting home early. Let us know how you plan to make the most of your own time! You can find us on Twitter (Cross posted from Unite for our society)
