How your boss is ripping you off every day

AUSTRALIANS are some of the hardest workers in the world, but looking at your pay slip, you wouldn’t know it.

Why are we working so hard for free?

AUSTRALIAN workers are putting in $71.2 billion worth of unpaid hours every year, research by an HR consulting firm has found.

The typical full-time employee works 4.28 hours more than they are contracted to do each week, which adds up to $8704 of your time annually for someone on an average wage, Randstad reports.

Australians are putting in some of the longest hours in the developed world, coming in ninth in a survey of OECD countries from 2013.

Working for free doesn’t just hurt your wallet. Experts say routine overtime is bad for our health, our personal lives and even our productivity in the office.

The Fair Work Act recommends a 38-hour working week for full-time employees, but the average worker is putting in 42.25.

Part-time staff are putting in an hour over their contracted 24 hours every week, adding up to a further $3.2 billion of unpaid hours worked over a year.

Mike Roddy, director of client engagement and talent solutions at Randstad, told news.com.au: “I think we all know we do a little more than we should. A lot of hours go unpaid, in inverted commas, and should be recognised.

“Work-life balance is critical if we don’t want people to get burnt out.”

While we should be willing to put in some extra time as and when the business needs it, when hours are spiralling out of control, employers should expect “presenteeism”, health issues and a high turnover of staff.

If your boss is demanding too much, it’s time to speak up.

Trent Hancock, senior associate at employment law firm McDonald Murholme, told news.com.au staff should take these factors into account when deciding if the overtime request is reasonable or not.

• any risk to health and safety from working the extra hours

• the employee’s personal situation, including their family responsibilities

• the needs of the workplace

• if the employee is entitled to receive overtime payments or penalty rates for working the extra hours

• if they are paid at a higher rate on the understanding that they work some overtime

• if the employee was given enough notice that they may have to work overtime

• if the employee has already stated they can’t ever work overtime

• the usual patterns of work in the industry.

“Any adverse action taken against an employee for refusing to work unreasonable additional work hours or making a complaint about them is a breach of the general protections provisions of the Fair Work Act 2009,” he added.

The key to getting overtime right is flexibility. “If there’s a burning deadline tonight, can they be given an hour off in lieu tomorrow?” asked Mr Roddy. “Fatigue sets in a lot easier when you’re working long hours. Your output won’t be what it would be with breaks.

Reasonable working hours are one of the most important factors for job satisfaction.

“It’s more about a work-life blend because of technology. Most of us are happy to reply to an email at 8pm at night but if that’s not being recognised or recompensed, you need to have a conversation.”

It can be hard to have that talk with an employer, if you fear being seen as work-shy, but ultimately, a business suffers if workers aren’t engaged.

We need to be asking how we can put in a reasonable number of hours in the office and still ensure our output meets expectations.

There are a surprising number of ways this can be achieved.

With technology, there’s the potential for remote work. Many parents would love the opportunity for a flexible work pattern, allowing them to put in the hours at a time that suits them, and work to their optimum capacity. Others might want to work long days for a day off in return.

The report found that almost half of Aussie workers rated good work-life balance as one of their top considerations when assessing a new employer, making it an important consideration for attracting and retaining the best staff. A third of those who intended to change employers in the next six to 12 months cited work-life balance issues as a factor in their decision.

Of those staying with their employer, almost two thirds rated a good work-life balance as the top reason to stay.

Maybe it’s time we stopped working so hard for nothing.