Overtime. One little word, so much emotional baggage. For the lucky few, overtime might trigger a spark of joy: a few more pounds on the payslip at the end of the month. But for most of us, it’s an unwanted burden, a thief of our free time, despite it becoming a normal expectation of the workplace. So expected, in fact, that a leaked memo from Google’s Sergey Brin last week revealed he believes “60 hours a week is the sweet spot of productivity”. That’s 20 more than the average contract.

A study by LiveCareer, published in January, revealed that 77% of workers take on extra duties weekly, and the TUC (Trades Union Congress) topped that last week with a study for Work Your Proper Hours day (a new day to me but one I intend to fully celebrate in the future) that revealed teachers take on the most overtime in the UK, with two in five working a whopping 26 hours extra a week – the equivalent of £15,000 in lost salary. It also reported that 3.8 million UK workers took on unpaid overtime last year.

Unsurprisingly, it’s not just our bank balances that suffer as a consequence; it’s also our health – 93% of employees who work additional hours on a regular basis report burning out.

Encouragingly, help is coming in the future in the form of the future Employment Rights Bill, but what do you do if you need to take action now? Here are four thought starters if you’re in a cycle of overtime you want to escape:

• The legal working limit is 48 hours a week. If you are working over this or well over your contracted hours, it’s important to raise the matter with your manager or HR teams to see if there are ways to reduce or prioritise your workload.
• Establish your boundaries. Often overtime is self-inflicted by our own sense of duty or business culture, especially when it comes to things like checking emails out of hours or on holiday or ‘catching up’ at home. Write down what boundaries you would like to create, and then do things like turn notifications off, pack work laptops or mobiles away or ask colleagues, housemates, partners or friends to remind you of the boundaries if you slip.
• Consider implementing time management techniques into your working day to ensure you’re maximising the time you are working. You can find lots of great ideas from Team Stylist here.
• Check your contract and what overtime is expected of you. Citizens Advice has some great information on what to look for in your contract and where your rights lie.