Well it turns out you aren’t the only one with Australians working on average 7 hours overtime each week, and this unpaid overtime equates to $109.6 billion or 7.4 per cent of GDP.
It has been well documented that a poor work and life balance has a direct impact on our health, relationships and workplace. A recent report out of the UK found that one in five employees had taken a day off sick because they could not cope with the pressure of going into work, with most citing excessive workload and/or long hours as the most significant causes of stress in the workplace.
Now in its fifth year, Go Home on Time Day (Wednesday 20 November) is an annual initiative of The Australia Institute, in partnership with beyondblue. The Day is a light-hearted way to start a serious conversation about work-life balance - and we are keen supporters of the cause!
In our opinion, if you don't measure it you can't manage it. By having all staff clock in and out of work, managers and supervisors can easily identify just how much unpaid overtime their team members are putting in, and if there is a particular pattern forming.
What's more, if your employees have to frequently work extra hours, workplace health and safety may be jeopardised through increased fatigue, potentially leading to a workplace accident and subsequent legal action.
Armed with this information you may be able to justify hiring additional staff or bringing in contract labour at times of increased activity, or at the very least acknowledge the effort being put in by your team - perhaps introducing a Time in Lieu scheme or incentives for those that are working longer hours.
In the long run, this will ultimately benefit your business as a motivated and happy workforce generally means increased productivity.
To find out more or get your organisation involved in Go Home on Time Day see: http://www.gohomeontimeday.org.au/
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