Jessica O'ConnorThe average British worker spends 4.7 hours each week performing unpaid overtime or taking on tasks that fall outside their formal job description, research from StandOut CV has revealed.
The survey of 1,051 UK adults revealed that over the course of a year, that adds up to more than five extra working weeks – equivalent to £4,063.52 in unpaid labour annually.
This trend of “going above and beyond” appeared to be widespread.
Eight in 10 UK workers reported having performed duties outside of their job description, and 71.6% said they were not compensated for this additional work.
These tasks are not always minor – some involved complex or emotionally taxing responsibilities that extend far beyond the scope of a typical job role.
Among the most common additional tasks were providing technical support to colleagues (66.4%), offering emotional support (61.5%), and cleaning or organising shared workspaces (60.7%).
Others reported regularly onboarding and training new hires (57.7%) or performing work for entirely different departments (56.9%).
Generational and gender differences also emerged. Gen Z workers were significantly more likely (94.4%) to take on duties outside their remit compared to Baby Boomers (73.3%).
Meanwhile, women were more likely than men to provide emotional support at work – 68.9% compared to 55.3%.
Despite longstanding office clichés, being asked to fetch coffee for the boss ranked low on the list of additional duties.
Instead, it was the unseen labour, such as tech troubleshooting, peer mentoring, and cleaning, that was more likely to burden employees.
Some of these tasks demanded a substantial time investment, as workers reported spending an average of 33.7 minutes per week on interdepartmental duties, 32.8 minutes on onboarding and training, and 31.8 minutes providing tech support.
