Key facts
- Approximately 20% of EU workers are contacted for work outside normal hours multiple times per month.
- Over 50% of UK employees work beyond their standard hours daily.
- Workers contacted outside of hours report significantly higher stress levels.
- Heavy workloads are the main cause of out-of-hours contact in Europe.
- Remote workers face greater challenges in maintaining work-life boundaries.
- Several European nations have implemented laws to protect employees' right to disconnect.
Europe's working day is increasingly encroaching on employees' personal time, driven by the rise of remote work and labor market volatility. A significant portion of workers, particularly in the UK, report being contacted for work-related reasons outside of normal hours, contributing to an 'always-on' culture and heightened stress levels.
A Eurofound study revealed that about one in five EU workers are contacted for work outside of standard hours multiple times a month. This frequency of contact is directly correlated with increased stress, with only 17% of those never contacted reporting stress, compared to 59% of all surveyed European workers.
Heavy workloads are identified as the primary cause for this out-of-hours contact. Remote workers, in particular, struggle to establish boundaries and often face expectations of constant availability. The Eurofound survey indicated that 63% of teleworkers report being contacted outside working hours, compared to 48% of those working solely on-site.
In the UK, a report by MyPerfectCV found that over half of employees work beyond their normal hours daily, and 92% struggle to mentally switch off during their time off. Additionally, the Trades Union Congress (TUC) reported that approximately 3.5 million British workers regularly worked unpaid overtime last year, contributing an estimated £28.5 billion (€33.3 billion) in unpaid labor.
In response, several European countries, including France, Italy, and Spain, have implemented legal measures such as the right-to-disconnect laws to protect employees' rest. However, the UK currently lacks a similar statutory right. Challenges in implementation and enforcement persist due to fragmented regulations, ingrained workplace cultures, and the complexities of hybrid and international collaboration.