According to recent research carried out by the TUC almost five million people regularly work over their hours for no extra reward and the total value of unpaid overtime is estimated to be to more than £25 billion a year across the UK.

The TUC research was based upon a study of over 50,000 employees aimed at encouraging people to have a proper lunch break and leave work on time.

Working longer rarely means working better. In the current economic climate many businesses may feel the answer is to work their staff longer and harder but that could be counter-productive.

Employees simply resign themselves to working long hours as being normal and get despondent which leads to less productivity.

Most people don’t mind putting in extra effort if there is a major rush on or in times of emergency but when it becomes an every-day event it can damage health, relationships, morale and quality of work.

The long hours culture practised in so many firms can have the opposite effect to what’s intended and often ends up breeding inefficiency and costing more in the long run.

The culture of extended working hours needs to change. Businesses can achieve more if employees are encouraged to work smarter rather than just staying in the office longer.”