Green MEP, Jean Lambert, has called on Londoners to heed the message of Work Your Proper Hours Day on Friday 22nd February. On this day, an initiative from the TUC, employees are encouraged to take a proper lunchbreak and leave work on time to enjoy the evening.
Nearly five million people in the UK regularly do unpaid overtime, on average completing £4,955 worth of free work a year and more than half of British workers say they have experienced symptoms of overwork and burnout. 30 per cent believe that they have suffered exhaustion. An increasing number of people are now opting to take jobs less skilled than their ability in order to access flexible or less stressful work.
Indirect results of long hours include tiredness on the roads, with symptoms of stress and fatigue often worse than being under the influence of alcohol or drugs. Reducing the UK’s long hours could also help to solve other health problems such as excessive alcohol consumption, physical inactivity and obesity.
Ms Lambert, who sits on the Employment and Social Affairs Committee in the European Parliament, said:
"British people work some of the longest hours in Europe. Yet due to stress and fatigue, productivity is one of the lowest. Our long hours culture not only affects our opportunities for a social and family life but also threatens our physical and mental health.
"Britain is currently the only EU country to have an opt-out to the EU Working Time Directive. This means employees sign away their right to a cap on their working hours, despite many workers not knowing that they can refuse. Alan Johnson this week recognised the detrimental impact long hours has on the NHS, now it’s time the Government remedied the situation.
"I urge employers to reassess their own hours and the working culture of their business. In the long-run, ensuring that employees have time off for relaxation and recuperation leads to fewer sick days, greater staff retention and a healthier working environment."
Notes to Editors
1 Jean Lambert’s report I Must Work Harder? investigates Britain’s long hours culture and the emerging side effects it is having on today’s society.
2 Work Your Proper Hours Day on 22nd February is the day when the average person who does unpaid overtime finishes the unpaid days they do every year, and starts earning for themselves.