Increasingly intense working days are putting people at greater risk of burnout, according to research by the TUC.
More than half of workers (55%) reported that work had become more intense and demanding, according to survey for the union body. The poll of 2,198 workers also found three in five (61%) say they feel exhausted at the end of most working days.
More than a third of workers (36%) are spending more time outside of their contracted hours reading, sending and answering emails. A third (32%) are spending more time outside of contracted hours doing core work activities.
Four in 10 (40%) said they were now required do more work in the same amount of time, with a similar percentage (38%) saying they are as a result feeling more stressed at work
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TUC general secretary, Paul Nowak, said: “No one should be pushed to the brink because of their job. Gruelling hours, pace and expectations at work are growing problems up and down the country. This is a recipe for burnt-out Britain.
“Chronic staff shortages, intrusive surveillance tech and poor enforcement of workers’ rights have all combined to create a perfect storm. It’s little wonder that so many feel exhausted at the end of their working day,” he added.
Women were more likely than men to say they felt exhausted at the end of most working days (67% to 56%) and that work was getting more intense (58% to 53%), according to the polling for the TUC by Thinks Insight.
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The union body calling for workers to get a right to disconnect, stronger enforcement of working-time regulations, a resolution to the public sector recruitment and retention crisis, and making flexible working a genuine legal right from day one of a job.
It is also calling for more collective bargaining and the introduction of a statutory duty to consult trade unions.
