Fresh on the heels of a story about Sweden adopting a six-hour workday comes news that the rest of the world appears to be moving in the opposite direction, and Canada is working longer days than most.

According to new research, nearly half – 41% – of Canadian professionals work a full extra day or more per week.

Global workplace provider, Regus, surveyed over 44,000 business people from more than 100 countries and found that working long hours is the norm worldwide, with most workers putting in at least some overtime every week.

“The majority of Canadians who work overtime are putting in a whopping 8-12 hours more each week, compared to globally where the majority report doing around 2 – 4 hours more each week. Additionally, 16 per cent of Canadians are teetering close to burn out and putting in over 15 hours, basically working the equivalent of a seven-day week.”
The day people say they are most likely to put in overtime hours is Monday (18%), probably because they’re catching up from the weekend, while only 7% report working longer hours on Friday. 13.5% reported that they work on weekends.

According to a press release, key findings include:

• Most Canadian workers do around 8-12 hours of work more each week (18%);

• Those in central Canada are more likely to put in 8-12 hours at 20.5%, followed by western Canada at 18%, Quebec at 16.3% and Eastern Canada at 15.8%

• Only 12% of Canadians report doing one or less hours of overtime

• Globally, 38% of professionals work a full extra day or more. In Canada, the number rises to 41%.

The release didn’t mention whether the overtime was paid or unpaid, but we all know a lot of us work unpaid overtime.  In a recent poll, Workopolis asked users, “Do you do work for your employer on your own time?”

Out of 11,236 respondents, 41% said yes they “often” take extra work home, while an even 30% and 30% were split between those who only work the hours they’re paid for and those who “sometimes, but not regularly,” work on their own time.

How about you? Do you work on your own time and is it worth it? And if so, does your employer appreciate it?