Welcome to The 7 Day Working Week

It was meant to be that we all worked less and had more time for family and leisure – but it seems the reality is heading in the other direction.

New research reveals workers in the UK are putting in significant extra hours at the office as a matter of routine.

Nearly one in five employees regularly work 15 hours per week or more in addition to their scheduled hours – that’s two days a week.

In effect, these workers are doing a SEVEN day week.

Regus carried out the research. UK CEO Richard Morris said: “Employers need to realise that not only is this unhealthy, it’s also not conducive to productivity or a high standard of work.”

The findings showed 17 per cent of employees regularly put in an extra 15 hours a week or more on top of their contracted time.

Only 12 per cent said they usually work an extra hour per week or less. More than 50 per cent revealed working an extra six hours or more is usual.

The research also highlighted UK workers’ struggle with switching off at the weekends. Almost one in three people completed their overtime on Saturdays and Sundays. The on-ly common positive?… workers like to leave on time on a Friday. Just 10 per cent work overtime at the end of the week.

Regus said location of work played a part in helping worker wellbeing. If workers needed to do overtime, being able to carry it out from a professional workspace closer to home would shorten the commute at each end of the day.

A shorter commute would leave employees more time to do productive tasks.