Here’s a rhetorical question for everyone reading this:

Does anybody know that person in the office who works a lot of extra hours (and may even complain about it) and yet can be seen at the water cooler, browsing the web, or doing other things that take away from their professional productivity?

• How about spending hours a week complaining about situations and people instead of focusing on a solution and moving forward?
• Unnecessary meetings that are glorified extensions of the water cooler where nothing gets decided or followed up on?
• All the people at those meetings that were just invited so they wouldn’t feel left out, but don’t really need to be there?

I don’t want to insinuate that most people who work overtime do this, but many do. How much of that £27 billion of unpaid overtime is actually just extra hours, but not extra productivity? It’s impossible to know for sure.

So, do you know that person in your office? Is it you?

Here’s a rhetorical question for everyone reading this:

Does anybody know that person in the office who works a lot of extra hours (and may even complain about it) and yet can be seen at the water cooler, browsing the web, or doing other things that take away from their professional productivity?

How about spending hours a week complaining about situations and people instead of focusing on a solution and moving forward?
Unnecessary meetings that are glorified extensions of the water cooler where nothing gets decided or followed up on?All the people at those meetings that were just invited so they wouldn’t feel left out, but don’t really need to be there?

I don’t want to insinuate that most people who work overtime do this, but many do. How much of that £27 billion of unpaid overtime is actually just extra hours, but not extra productivity? It’s impossible to know for sure.

So, do you know that person in your office? Is it you?

On Dan’s point above about the work/life balance figures in 2008 for project managers, the latest Report shows;

Work/Life Balance. Is there a long hours culture in project management?

Over 28% of respondents claimed to have an unacceptable life balance, and this figure increases markedly for those who work more than 40 hours a week (34%), and more than 48 hours a week (45%).

Not only that, there is evidence that project managers are working longer. There is a significant increase- over 5% -in the number of Public sector workers working more than 48 hours, though this figure at 15% is still lower than the 20% in the Private sector.

This chimes with a recently published report from the TUC which led with the headline that UK workers are giving away £27 billion of unpaid overtime, a figure that has increased significantly since they last checked in 2008. The analysis suggests that this is partly due to the recession, with workers accepting additional hours as part of the package that protects jobs.

Anyone can view the press release and download the report at:
http://www.arraspeople.co.uk/blog/?p=107

On Dan’s point above about the work/life balance figures in 2008 for project managers, the latest Report shows;

Work/Life Balance. Is there a long hours culture in project management?

Over 28% of respondents claimed to have an unacceptable life balance, and this figure increases markedly for those who work more than 40 hours a week (34%), and more than 48 hours a week (45%).

Not only that, there is evidence that project managers are working longer. There is a significant increase- over 5% -in the number of Public sector workers working more than 48 hours, though this figure at 15% is still lower than the 20% in the Private sector.

This chimes with a recently published report from the TUC which led with the headline that UK workers are giving away £27 billion of unpaid overtime, a figure that has increased significantly since they last checked in 2008. The analysis suggests that this is partly due to the recession, with workers accepting additional hours as part of the package that protects jobs.

Anyone can view the press release and download the report at:
http://www.arraspeople.co.uk/blog/?p=107