Overtime increased in 35% of organisations across Australia in the past financial year, according to recruiter Hays. Just 7% of organisations decreased overtime work.

Of the organisations that increased overtime, 30% did so by five hours per week on average. Another 36% increased overtime between six and 10 hours per week.

Furthermore, 62% of employers said the skills shortage had led to increased workloads for existing staff.

Of those professionals who are looking or planning to look for a new role this financial year, 25% cite poor work-life balance as a motivating factor and 21% cite the negative mental health and well-being impacts of their current role.

This news comes in the wake of the Ryan-Rugg settlement in May, which put the spotlight on what is considered a ‘reasonable’ level of overtime.

The hidden cost of overtime and how to counter it

Matthew Dickason, CEO Asia Pacific at Hays, said there had been an increase in the number of organisations requiring employees to work overtime in recent times.

“While a reasonable level of overtime may be expected in certain roles and industries, it should never become excessive," he said.

“Excessive overtime can negatively impact employees’ physical and mental health and wellbeing. It can lead to stress and burnout, and adversely affect work-life balance, job satisfaction, productivity and staff turnover.

“Unfortunately, perceptions of what constitutes ‘excessive’ overtime can vary from person to person. As a result, overtime expectations differ between organisations."

Dickason urged employers recognise the hidden costs of overtime and take a proactive approach to better manage it.”

To counter rising overtime rates, Hays encouraged organisations to:

  • Leverage tools and software to track working hours, detect overtime patterns, and identify predictors of burnout 
  • Ask employees what they consider to be a reasonable level of overtime and whether occasional overtime would negatively impact their personal circumstances 
  • Encourage staff to report excessive overtime to their manager 
  • Use employee pulse surveys to measure employee health and wellbeing
  •  Automate and streamline processes where possible
  •  Consider hiring additional temporary or permanent staff or redistributing tasks to employees with lower workloads
  • Offer additional flexible working arrangements to help employees maintain a healthy work-life balance
  •  Encourage staff to take time off immediately before or after seasonal peaks.

The FY23-24 Hays Salary Guide is based on a survey of over 14,000, consisting of 6903 organisations and 7,392 professionals. 

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