Australians work for free

By Nicki Bourlioufas, Business editor

Almost all Australians work overtime.

The majority of workers don't get paid.

 An average 10hours/week is worked overtime.

Australians are slogging their guts out for their employers.

Almost all of us work overtime and we don't get paid for it, with the bulk of overtime work going unpaid from company bosses.

Respondents to a survey conducted by NEWS.com.au and polling firm Coredata reported what most of us already know - we're working overtime largely because we have to, and not because we want to.

A survey of 3141 NEWS.com.au readers revealed 92 per cent of those employed worked overtime in the week before the survey was conducted, with an average 10 and a half hours spent working extra, up one hour from the last survey conducted in May.

Almost one in 10 employees worked more than 20 hours of overtime.

No choice

While most people said they are required by their employer to put in additional hours beyond their standard working week, a whopping 79 per cent of those employed did not get paid for that work.

Of those who did get compensated, the most common form was time off in lieu (61 per cent) while another 44 per cent got paid in cash.

Three out of four employees who worked overtime did so as they had no choice but to finish the work. People on AWA contracts have less choice than any other employee to work overtime.

Professionals were more likely to say they were not paid for overtime (84 per cent) compared to non-professionals (52 per cent).

The survey was conducted on November 20 - 28, 2007.

Most respondents or 88 per cent were the professionals or white-collar workers, the bulk of whom were on individual contracts or AWAs. Just one in four people were on awards.

But the survey indicated that that those who are paid more, did more overtime and many workers indicated it was just expected of them. Despite this expectation, the survey revealed over 50 per cent of respondents tried to avoid working overtime.

The real impact

Employers are getting their pound of flesh, and that bit extra, which is helping to boost their bottom lines. But employees, who are doing the work, who are feeling stressed, unhappy and are spending less time with their families.

Nearly three out of four who worked overtime said it cut the amount of time they spent with family and friends (74 per cent). A further 71 per cent had less relaxation time.

One in five respondents or 22 per cent said their family life was less happy as a result of working the overtime.

Just 14 per cent of the respondents said working overtime enabled them to make more money.

Total hours worked are long for most of us. Two out of 10 respondents (20 per cent) worked 51-60 hours in the past week, whlie one in 10 worked more than sixty hours.

Professionals worked slightly more average total hours at 49 hours a week, compared to 46.5 for other groups.

Employers are reluctant to allow workers to conduct overtime from home, with 62 per cent of those surveyed saying their employed did not allow them to take work home to finish.