Overtime outrage: engineers are putting in more than 13 extra days of work a year!

The average engineer (38.7%) puts in over 13 extra working days a year, with three quarters (73.8%) admitting that they often work more than their contracted hours.

What’s more, one in four (22.6%) could be working an extra 34 days!

That’s according to recent data from CV-Library , a UK independent job board.



The study explored average working hours across the UK and whether the traditional 9-5 day still exists.

The research revealed that 71.4% of workers in the engineering sector believe that the traditional 9-5 is an outdated concept, with the majority (63.3%) agreeing that mobile working options mean people can work from anywhere at any time.

Other key findings include:

* Only one in four (25.3%) of engineering professionals still work a traditional 9-5 day
* Worryingly, one in 10 (8.9%) are working seven days a week
* And despite a staggering 83.3% believing that every business should offer flexible working, three quarters (73.8 %) said they still don’t have the option to work from home

Lee Biggins, founder and managing director of CV-Library , comments: “It’s become clear from the data that engineers are putting in too much overtime. It’s concerning to learn that over one in 10 are even working seven days a week!

“Being overworked can lead to burnout, as well as having many other negative implications for the wellbeing of workers.

“Though technology may be great for enabling flexible working, it could also be disturbing the work-life balance of the professionals in the industry as they continue to do work related tasks outside of office hours.

“For this reason it’s vital that professionals are thinking about their own work-life balance. Putting in the odd bit of overtime every now and then may be necessary, but as a general rule you should be able to leave your work behind you at the end of the day and take time out to re-charge.

There are some simple ways you can get the balance right, not having work emails on your smartphone for example.

Not only this, but when looking for a job, take into consideration companies and employers who actively encourage a good work-life balance.”

The survey also explored the topic of other countries trialling out shorter working hours. For example, Sweden introducing six hour days to see if this would increase staff productivity.

The survey from CV-Library found that two thirds (67.9%) of engineering professionals think that a four day working week would be beneficial to them; with a third (36.85) agreeing it will allow them more time to enjoy your private life.

Not only this, but 28.1% believe it would make staff more productive and 14% said it would give them more time to relax and unwind.

That said, one in three (32.1%) didn’t agree that a shorter working week would be more beneficial as fitting your workload into four days could be stressful (44.4%).

Not only this, but 33.3% believe that businesses could suffer as a result of being closed an extra day.

Biggins concludes: “It’s clear that many believe they would benefit from a four day week, despite there being mixed feelings around the subject.

“It’s a very interesting concept, but the results are yet to be confirmed, with some believe engineers are at risk of becoming overworked if they continue to put in so much overtime and it’s time they found themselves a healthier work-life balance.”