Overtime how much is too much

Working too much can seriously damage your long-term health. As well as increasing the risk of heart problems, the tiredness you will suffer from will potentially put your life at risk when commuting to work. Learning to take a break and recharge your batteries will help you maintain a healthy lifestyle while keeping your productivity levels higher. Having a family pet sounds like an exciting idea — going for walks in the park, playing with them, For those that are able to sleep well into the morning or afternoon, they would probably agree that Tiny apartments are becoming more and more popular, and it seems as though it pays to be thinking Increased time off You will be running yourself into the ground, and because of this, you will suffer from fatigue which can lead to increased time off from work.

In fact, some research suggests that workers who have worked 16 consecutive hours or more are three times as likely to be involved in a workplace accident. Jobs such as those in the oilfield , at refineries , or in hospitals have workers follow a schedule known as shift work. These schedules split up the hour day into long shifts. While shift workers often work fewer days, they work long shifts of 12 hours or more, increasing their risk of injury and other health problems.

More about the dangers of shift work can be found in our blog about the topic. Fatigued workers are more likely to be involved in a car accident on their way to or from work. In fact, one study revealed that working just 8 hours of overtime in a week can make you 5 times as likely to be involved in a wreck.

It should come as no surprise that fatigued workers also lose some productivity. When a person is overworked and tired, their cognitive functions slow down, making it more difficult to complete their daily responsibilities as efficiently as they normally would. On average, research shows that productivity drops 2. Many employees seek out as much overtime as they can get because of the higher pay rates. Your employer might be discriminating against you if they try to make you work overtime and you can't because:.

Check what you can do if you're facing discrimination at work. If you decline the overtime and you've been working in a job for less than 2 years, your employer could threaten to dismiss you. You can check if the reason for your dismissal would be unfair or contact your nearest Citizens Advice for help.

Even if your contract doesn't mention overtime, your employer might still ask you to work extra hours. You have a right to say no but if you say no without a good reason, it might damage your relationship with your boss.

They might try to change the working hours in your contract. Whether your employer can make changes will usually depend on your contract and whether you agree to the change. Find out what you can do if your employer tries to change your contract. If you're working too many hours, there are several ways you might be able to reduce them. For example, you can:.

If you think your employer has unreasonable expectations about how much work you should be doing, you could ask them to reduce your workload. Your first step should be to set up an informal meeting with your manager to explain your concerns. If you don't feel comfortable speaking to your manager, find someone else in the business in a position of authority. If you're doing a lot of tasks outside your job description, you could ask your manager to prioritise them and drop anything that isn't central to your role.

If your manager still wants all the work done but you don't think you can complete it in working hours, you could negotiate longer deadlines to give you more time. You could also suggest your employer shares the work out among other staff or hires more staff to complete the work.

If you're working too many hours but your employer doesn't want to pay overtime, you might be able to get 'time off in lieu' TOIL. This means your employer agrees to give you time off instead of paying you for extra hours you've worked.

If you've spoken to your employer informally but you don't feel like you're getting anywhere, you could take more formal action. Taking formal action against an employer can be a long and stressful process. You might find it quicker and easier to look for a new job elsewhere. If you decide to stay and challenge your employer about your working hours or workload, you could raise a formal grievance. If your employer keeps making you work excessive hours, you might be able to resign and claim for constructive dismissal at an employment tribunal.

You'd need to argue they might be in breach of contract on the implied terms of trust and confidence. Dave Ramsey calls the classic book Boundaries by Dr. Henry Cloud and Dr. John Townsend a life-changing book! Many people think that boundaries only apply to unruly children and intrusive mother-in-laws, but this is simply not true—boundaries can work wonders in many other areas of life—including your job.

When I first went into practice, I hired a woman for 20 hours a week to run my office. On her second day in the office, I gave her a pile of things to do. About 10 minutes later, she knocked at my door, stack of papers in hand. Which 20 would you like done? She was right. I did have a problem.