USA: The reasons that lead employees to work overtime (new survey)

Self Financial recently conducted a survey with the participation of 1,147 people in the United States. The survey tried to define the working conditions of the employees in the USA during the pandemic.

More specifically, 42% of respondents explained that they work longer hours from the beginning of the pandemic, with a 41% not recording any change in their schedule and a 17% admitting that they work part time. Regarding those who work more hours per week, 28% said they work 3-4 hours more and 27% said they work for 5-6 hours more per week. At the same time 1 in 5 respondents of the survey answered that they do not expect to be paid for the overtime hours.

As for the reasons that push the participants in working overtime, 44% said they needed more time due to telework, while 36% said that the tendency for working overtime comes from the passion or love for their job. Furthermore, 35% said that they use this strategy in order to get a promotion or an increase in salary. Also, 33% said that they work overtime because they have taken up duties from an employee who was dismissed and 21% answered that they face distractions from other people at home. There is another percentage (19%)  who stated that they work extra hours in order to fill their free time, while 18% answered that working overtime comes as a consequence of their care responsibilities for their children and 7% attribute working overtime to the technical problems they face at the office.

In addition, according to the survey, 98.9% of respondents underline that they have encountered at least one disorder due to overtime working, with 46% talking about increased stress, 31% about exhaustion, 30% about anxiety, 28% about physical fatigue and 25% answering that they suffer from depression.

At the same time, 21% of the respondents reported sleep problems and limited time with their family, 20% of respondents admitted lack of work-life balance, 17% talked about reduced productivity and 16% talked about reduced efficiency.

However, the survey also focused on the 17% of the respondents who said that they are working less hours. Thus, 22.6% of these people work 3 or 4 hours less each week and 19% work for 9 or 10 hours less. Regarding the reasons for this reduction, 59% of participants said that their workload was reduced or that their job was no longer available, 34% said that their role had changed, 26% said that they increased their productivity, 17% answered that they were forced to reduce their working hours due to family obligations and 12% reported health reasons.

As for the impact of the reduction in working hours, 75% recorded that this change affected their wellbeing (either positive or negative), 38% emphasized on higher stress, 22% of respondents indicated suffering from depression, 17% indicated suffering from insomnia and reduced productivity and 7% reported burnout. However, 25% did not report any impact, with 22% of respondents saying that they have more time for their family, 20% reported reduced stress levels and 12% reported better sleep.