While many people can afford to be a little more conscientious at work, there’s a growing number of employees who are putting a little too much effort into their work at the expense of family, friends and relaxation.
Today is officially the day to start getting a little balance back into life. It’s Go Home on Time Day.
Go Home on Time Day is an initiative of The Australia Institute and their research gives us some very clear warnings about agreeing to last minute meetings and unpaid overtime. While they’ve focussed on the situation in Australia, it should be a wake up call for workers around the world.
Each year, Australians work more than 2 billion hours of unpaid overtime, worth an equivalent $72 billion.
For full-time workers, the average daily amount of unpaid work is 70 minutes which equates to six-and-a-half standard working weeks. Put another way, this is the equivalent of ‘donating’ more than your annual leave entitlement back to your employer.
A consequence of overtime is ‘time poverty’ or not having enough time to do all the things you need or want to do. This can have negative consequences for your physical and mental health, your relationships with loved ones and your sense of what is important in life.
If you need it, you can head to the Go Home on Time Day website to get a ‘Leave Pass’ so that you can officially head out the door at the right time today.
Are you finding that you’re giving more time and effort to your job and less to those areas of your life that really matter? Have you found yourself becoming more loyal to your boss than your family? Do you feel trapped into working longer hours without reward?
Will you be taking advantage of Go Home on Time Day to take back a little control?
Do you think some of your friends would enjoy reading Just Go Home? Please use the buttons below to share the post. Thanks.