Staff Miss Out on £4,785 a Year From Extra Hours Worked From Home

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07 January 2021

New data has revealed that UK employees could be missing out on £4,785.30 a year due to working extra hours at home.

According to a survey carried out by Furniture at Work, three in ten (30 per cent) people said that they work an extra three-four hours a week when working from home, with nearly half (45 per cent) saying they do over five hours extra. Only one per cent of those who do extra said they do less than one hour. 

The survey also found that employees who work extra were working an average of five hours and 54 minutes more every week, that would equal 40.9 days extra across a whole year of work. 

Based on the 2019 average weekly wage in the UK of £585, this means some employees could be missing out on £4,785.30 a year. 

Supporting Home Workers to Prevent Burnout

As part of the Health and Safety Executive’s (HSE) Lone Working guidance, employers are duty-bound to support home workers to ensure that they do not suffer from burnout.

A major area of focus for the HSE is that of employees’ mental health, particularly the impact of lone working on stress and wellbeing. Not only does working alone have a higher chance of invoking feelings of isolation and disconnect due to the lack of social contact and the physical presence of colleagues, but it can also mean that employers are unable to detect the warning signs of an employee who may be experiencing or at risk of experiencing work-related stress, depression or anxiety.

Employers have a legal duty to support their lone workers and look after their mental health in the workplace by carrying out risk assessments, modifying lone working environments accordingly to ensure that appropriate measures are in place to help keep feelings of isolation, stress and anxiety at bay. This includes helping employees to manage their workloads to ensure they are not working excessive extra hours. 

87 Per Cent Want to Keep Some Level of Home Working

In the study of 2,000 office workers who worked from home throughout the pandemic, 87 per cent of UK workers want to keep some level of home working after the COVID-19 pandemic, despite over half (52 per cent) saying they work extra hours.

Conversely, 25 per cent of respondents said they do fewer hours when working from home. Of those, nearly 39 per cent admitted to doing five plus hours less work during their week when compared to their working hours when office-based. 

Respondents also highlighted several positives to working from home. 78 per cent said the lack of a daily commute has been positive, with 70 per cent saying they’ve saved money. 

Picture: a photograph of a person working on a laptop

Article written by Ella Tansley | Published 07 January 2021

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