Oxford, Sheffield, and Worcester workers report working the longest days

Recent research commissioned by workspace brokerage Office Freedom has revealed that 87% of workers are working longer hours than they are contracted to. In addition, most have agreed that they are doing more when working from home.

Two thousand office workers participated in the survey to uncover working habits across the UK. The survey compared trends and patterns between cities, regions, ages, and genders.

According to the survey:

• Workers in Oxford, Sheffield, and Worcester have the longest working day, at an average length of 7.3 hours.
• Over 80% of respondents work more than they are contracted to.
• 28% of men state that they work more hours than contracted daily, compared to 13% of females.
• 63% of workers take a maximum of 30 minutes for lunch. Workers in the West Midlands take the longest break, whereas workers in the South West take the shortest breaks at an average of 25 minutes.
• One-third of workers are taking longer lunch breaks when working from home.
• Despite the long working days and employees putting more hours into their jobs, 37% of workers feel they are not rewarded for doing a good job.
• Common benefits among all employees are high street discounts, health and wellbeing initiatives, insurance, and extra holidays.
• 45% of respondents rated their company highly for being appreciative, with companies in Scotland being the most highly rated.
• Across all regions, 67% of respondents enjoy where they work.
• Younger workers are more likely to enjoy where they work than those aged 35 and over.
• Since working from home and hybrid working were introduced, most employees state that they enjoy working more than previously.
• 42% would be disappointed to return to five days in the office.

A spokesperson from Office Freedom said: “It seems that the flexibility of hybrid working has enabled more people to enjoy their jobs and take away some of the day-to-day stresses, like commuting, for example.”

“Rather than spending hours on the train or in the car, it’s apparent many would rather put that time back into their working day.”

“This new way of working is here to stay, especially now that the benefits have been realised by both companies and employees. Inevitably, working habits have changed for the better and it’s now time for companies to embrace the shift and ensure their initiatives and expectations align with the new norm.”