Office workers in these economies clock up the most extra hours
Wednesday, May 22, 2019 IST
Most people will have stayed late at work to finish urgent tasks or might even have pulled an all-nighter to hit a really tight deadline. When those occasions are the exception rather than the norm, there’s little lasting harm done by working extra, unpaid hours. But in some organizations, there is an expectation that everyone will work beyond their contracted hours as a matter of course.
This can lead to a culture where people who leave on time are regarded as disloyal or showing a lack of commitment. Even if this attitude doesn’t exist among senior managers, there may be one or two individuals who make a point of staying later than everyone else in a public display of dedication. But presenteeism, as it is sometimes called, can be damaging to people’s health, productivity and wellbeing.
A global research project undertaken by the insurance services group, Maxis GBN, found that workers in the UAE spend more time at work beyond their contracted hours than anywhere else in the world.
Each month,
a typical worker in the UAE is likely to clock up an extra 24 hours at work and 71% of them feel their workplace suffers from presenteeism. The United States and Hong Kong come second, with 23.2 additional hours worked per month. French workers, despite their famous workplace protections and employee rights, aren’t far behind with 22.4 extra hours per month.
Regardless of which country they were in, respondents to the survey said culture was important when considering a new job – 82% said they consider it important and 58% rate culture as very important.
Last year, research from the UK’s
Chartered Institute of Personnel Management found that 86% of UK workers had observed presenteeism in their organization over the preceding 12 months, up from 72% in 2016. In 2010 that figure had been just 26%. The same research found 55% of respondents had reported an increase in anxiety, depression and other common mental health conditions, up from 41% in 2016. As well as blighting lives, depression and anxiety combined
cost the global economy $1 trillion every year in lost productivity.
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