Weekend workers

By at home

It’s almost the weekend and while most of us are looking forward to two days of lie-ins and spending quality time with family and friends, some people won’t be getting a break from the office at all. A new study has revealed that one in three office employees now regularly work from home on weekends in a bid to catch up with their heavy workloads…

Every weekend, millions of people are bringing the office home with them and spending their days off checking e-mails, answering calls or even starting or finishing projects in preparation for Monday morning.

In fact, the study of 3,000 workers by Stinkyink.com revealed that the average employee now devotes nearly four hours of their weekend to work-related issues. And sadly, a quarter of Brits are often missing out on treasured time with their families due to their work commitments.

However, 43% said that’s virtually impossible to get through their work by just doing nine to five during the week, while 28% said they felt under pressure from their management to complete their pile of work on time.

And despite putting in the hours at home, only 17% get paid for for their weekend work.

 A spokesman for Stinkyink.com said: “Working extra hours at the weekend is becoming more the norm and sometimes it’s the only way that people can keep on top of their work loads. The workplace is very competitive and with the bleak economic climate it seems people will put in all the necessary hours to get their work done to hold on to their jobs. Modern technology makes it easy for us to constantly check emails and take phone calls when we’re spending time with the family. But there is a fine line between catching up on a few lose ends and work completely taking over your precious free time.’’

Will you be working from home this weekend? Do you feel under pressure to catch up with heavy workloads and pressing deadlines in your spare time? Tell us in the comments below, send us a Tweet or write on our Facebook wall!


Image: Thomas Goos/DPA/Press Association Images

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