Work disturbs weekend for nearly 10 million employees

9.7 million employees working on a standard Monday to Friday contract have reportedly had their weekends disturbed by work during the past 12 months, according to research conducted by MetLife Employee Benefits.

The survey found that an average of eight weekends a year were interrupted by work, with 14% of employees claiming the number was as high as 21.

With 47% of British workers claiming that they routinely have their weekends spoilt by unscheduled overtime, Tom Gaynor, Employee Benefits Director of MetLife UK, warned employers of the counter productivity of this dangerous trend. He says: “Uncontracted weekend working is a creeping condition than can decay overall productivity and performance. Disrupted and sometimes ruined weekends are becoming a disturbing feature of British life that has deep societal implications.”

MetLife also discovered that women have more difficulty detaching from work during the weekend, with 38% of women admitting that they couldn’t “switch off” compared to 32% of men.