Britons who can't switch off from work

BRITONS are working more than 900 million hours unpaid overtime outside of work every year, a survey revealed yesterday.

A poll of 3,000 people found 12 per cent said they worked a minimum of five hours unpaid per week.

Almost half (45 per cent) said they took work from the office home with them at weekends and 28 per cent said they had taken on extra home-based jobs to earn more money during the recession.

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The OnePoll survey, on behalf of furniture specialist Sharps, also found that 58 per cent of people worked through their lunch break at least once a week and the same percentage said they regularly worked overtime without additional pay.

More than a third of those questioned said they felt their boss did not notice the extra time they put in and one in three also found it hard to switch off outside work and to resist checking e-mails and taking phone calls.

Just over half of the men polled said they took work home at weekends, compared with 42 per cent of women. And a quarter of men said they have had to take more work home as a direct result of the recession.

Men are also 10 per cent more likely to check e-mails and take phone calls, even when they are on holiday, the survey found.

Gary Hunt, design and planning expert at Sharps, said: "There's no doubt people are finding their work lives merging with their social lives more and more, with the recession having had a big part to play.

"We have seen more and more customers wanting to incorporate a work space into their homes.

"The key reasons are the increased pressure people feel to take the office home with them and also the rise of the computer in general.

"It's common for all the family to spend time online, whether for work, school or social reasons."