Friday was my last day at work. Only that I have to go in tomorrow and work an extra day just to finish stuff off. I don’t mind too much – I’m giving them one day and one day only – however, the issue highlights the media industry’s unpaid £288m overtime to which surely I have contributed a fair amount of hours over the last 6 months.
Basically, in the UK, people especially in the media industry work loads of ‘free’ (to the employer) hours every month. I am no exception. Unlike in other European countries, in the UK this is the norm and it’s expected of you. However, it actually is pretty damaging, as I’ve found myself through getting sucked into being stressed constantly, having no time whatsoever for myself, despite really enjoying my work! This campaign, then, is about awareness of this ‘long hours culture’.
The workSMART – site, who’s running the campaign, has a work/life balance test you can take to assess where you are on the scale. I am an -8 days a week – person:
You’ve got more work to do than you can fit into the time you are meant to spend at work. And if you can’t control the amount of work you do or how’s its organised then you’re more likely to be putting in extra time. It is quite likely that colleagues are also putting in extra time, but you could be the only person who can do your job. Either way, there’s too much work for just one of you.
That’s about right! I really hope that my new job will be much better in that respect.
Filed under: Advertising, Daily life, Media, Work | Tagged: 22nd February, long hours culture, overwork, stress, work your proper hours
It’s the same in Germany/Austria. The rationale is that you may deem yourself lucky to be part of the media crowd. I am 85% sure that it is the same in France, the Netherlands, Spain, Italy, etc. where ever you go and find people who are working for/with brands and celebrities (brands are the same as celebrities, they’re just not human), i.e. in the media industry. In other words: I doubt that the UK media industry is an exception from other industries. I know a girl who has been working for eight weeks with a single break – she works as a production manager for an agency which produces tv commercials and if there’s business there’s no holiday for no one (except her boss…).
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