95% of Employees Feel External Pressure to Overwork: Study
Overworking is a problem employees face at some point, and it can have adverse effects on them and the organization. Inc and Go recently conducted a study to understand how often employers faced a situation of working overtime, the most common reasons, and its impact.
Overworking is a situation many employees have faced at some point in their careers. According to a recent ADP Research Institute study, unpaid overtime jumped sharply to an average of 9.2 hours per week in 2021 from 7.3 hours a week in 2020. However, the overworking culture has several adverse effects on employees, such as reduced work-life balance and mental health. A handful of people overworking every day can put unnecessary pressure on other workers to go beyond what is reasonable. All these can lead to employee burnout. And if organizations do not address this culture early on, they may find retaining employees challenging.
Inc and Go recently surveyed over 1,000 employees to understand the nature of their job — whether they have overworking employees or organization leaders who create a culture of overworking. The study also tried to know how often employees worked overtime and its impact.
The following are the key findings from the survey.
See more: Top Tech Solutions to Reduce Burnout and Enhance Productivity
Almost Three-quarters of People Work Overtime At least Once a Week
The study found that 71% of the respondents worked overtime at least once a week. About 23% worked overtime at least once a week, while 29% overworked 2-3 times a week. About 19% of respondents worked overtime on almost all days of the week.
Prevalence of each workplace characteristic
Source: Inc and Go Outlooks on Overworking
Further, about 56% of respondents regularly experienced intensity and high pressure, while 53% regularly worked early or late. About 48% said that working for long hours was prevalent. About 46% also said working on holidays and weekends was prevalent.
Employer Expectations Are the Top Driver of Toxic Work Culture
The study found that certain common factors contribute to the overworking culture. The top reason for the overworking culture was employer expectations, with 43% of respondents citing it. About 39% said meeting deadlines was another reason, and the same percentage of people cited keeping up with the workload as a top reason.
Top 10 reasons for overworking
Source: Inc and Go Outlooks on Overworking
In total, about 95% of people felt external pressure to overwork. The three primary sources of pressure were work superiors (65%), friends and family (46%), and culture and media (43%). The study also found that women were more likely to feel the pressure to work overtime from superiors and coworkers. Men were likely to feel pressure from society and culture.
Disadvantages of Overworking Outweigh Benefits
While overworking has adverse effects, people cited certain advantages of working overtime. For example, 53% of respondents said it developed their skills, and 49% said it increased their earnings. About 40% said overworking improved their career growth. Career impact involved productivity (64%), quality of work (58%), loyalty to an employer (55%), work relationships (54%), and job satisfaction (49%). Overall, about 52% of respondents said it had a net positive impact on their life satisfaction.
Regarding the disadvantages of overworking, 49% of respondents cited increased stress, while 42% cited emotional fatigue. About 40% cited physical fatigue, and 39% cited lack of sleep as a consequence of overworking. Overall, about 77% of respondents said working overtime negatively affected their work-life balance. Clearly, the disadvantages of overworking outweigh the benefits.
Percentage of workers citing each consequence of overworking
Source: Inc and Go Outlooks on Overworking
Less Than Half of the Organizations Successfully Address Concerns
The study found that 66% of respondents had brought concern to their superiors about being overworked. So, what, if anything, are employers doing about it?
About 42% of respondents said their supervisors addressed these concerns, while 39% said their supervisors tried addressing them. However, approximately a third of respondents said their supervisors either downplayed, ignored, or outrightly denied the concern.
A majority of respondents feel it is alright for the company to ask employees to overwork in case of a high-priority task, addressing an unexpected issue, or meeting an urgent deadline. About 36% of respondents also felt it was alright to overwork once or twice monthly, while 25% felt it was acceptable to overwork 1-2 times weekly.
Having said that, employees want their supervisors to address the issue of overworking in general. About 60% wanted superiors to set clear boundaries for working hours, and 43% wanted them to ban working outside work hours. About 41% wanted superiors to give them more breaks.
See more: 3 Hybrid Workplace Best Practices To Maintain Employee Wellness and Avoid Burnout
The Way Forward
The study clearly shows that there is a problem of overworking, and most of this pressure comes from external factors, especially job requirements. And undoubtedly, overworking is negatively impacting people despite having certain benefits. That said, people seem to be communicating what they expect from employers, and the Great Resignation is an indicator of this. Fortunately, there are certain steps employers can take to address the problem of overworking and burnout. Some of these steps include providing flexibility in the place and time people work, adding a day off in the week, automating certain tasks to reduce the burden, and providing mental health support.
If employers have not done it yet, it is high time they address overworking, without which, they may face a situation similar to the Great Resignation.
What steps have you taken to address the issue of overworking in your organization? Share with us on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.
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