IT managers and professionals do more unpaid overtime
than anyone else in the workforce, according to the
TUC.
The amount of unpaid overtime worked by IT managers and
professionals has increased over the past year, research released
in the run-up to the TUC’s Work Your Proper Hours Day on Friday
revealed.
The research draws on findings from the government’s Labour
Force Survey, which showed that just over half of IT managers (51%)
worked extra hours without pay – a higher proportion than in any
other group in the workforce.
IT managers put in an average nine hours and 18 minutes of extra
work each week without pay – whihc if paid would be worth £9,997
each a year, the TUC said.
Other IT professionals worked an average of six hours 48 minutes
unpaid every week, up 42 minutes from last year. The extra hours
would be worth another £5,589 a year if they were paid.
But the lot of more junior IT staff has improved slightly over
the past year. IT technicians now work an average four hours and 24
minutes unpaid each week, compared with five hours 12 minutes last
year.
The TUC is urging IT staff to take a stand for a day by taking a
proper lunch break and going home on time this Friday. Managers
should take the chance to say thank you to their staff and take
them for a cocktail or a coffee, it suggests.