After you’ve graduated from City of London Business College and have found yourself a new job, chances are that you’ll find yourself working overtime on the odd occasion – and it’s possible that these extra hours won’t be reflected in your pay packet.
According to the TUC’s latest report, over five million people added an average of 7.7 extra hours to their working week in unpaid overtime last year, equating to £6,114 each year if they were to be paid the average wage for the hours worked.
The most unpaid overtime was found to be done by teachers and others in the education profession, with over half of them working 11.9 hours unpaid each week on average, followed by financial institution managers, production managers, functional managers and managers in health and care services.
“We do not want to turn Britain into a nation of clock watchers. Few people mind putting in extra effort from time to time when it is needed, but it is too easy for extra time to be taken for granted and expected day in day out. I would urge anyone worried about a long-hours culture in their workplace to join their union, to make sure they are represented and their voices are heard,” general secretary Frances O’Grady said.
While it’s clearly not uncommon to work overtime, whether you’re paid or not, it’s also important that you focus on your health and wellbeing as well. Avoid drinking too much coffee, try and exercise each day, eat healthily and try to get a good night’s sleep if you know you’re going to be working a lot this week.
