Britons are working the equivalent of an extra day each week, thanks to the global financial crisis.
The economic downturn caused by the global credit crunch is forcing British people to work the equivalent of an extra day a week, new analysis from Badenoch and Clark has shown.
According to the recruitment consultants, this is due to crunch-hit firms either cutting jobs or not replacing staff who decide to leave in a bid to reduce costs. While this protects balance sheets, it also results in existing employees having to work much harder in order to keep productivity levels up.
This has led, in turn, to workers feeling more stressed than before. Indeed, one in 20 people were found to be planning to hand in their notice at their current jobs in order to escape the "sweatshop culture".
People aged between 45 and 54 were found to be putting in the highest number of extra hours, while the banking and finance industries were the most affected by the crunch.
Neil Wilson, managing director of the consultants, said: "People are being asked to put in more hours in the office and that is clearly starting to take its toll. Employers who ignore the happiness of their workers leave themselves open to a mass exodus as soon as the economy picks up."
Over 1,000 UK adults were polled by Badenoch and Clark over the course of its research.
