The current economic climate has made life more difficult for graduate recruiters across all sectors. This increased strain on businesses may have translated into greater pressure placed on employees. Working long hours may be necessary to meet certain project deadlines, but it is important to realise that it is not a way of life.
Recently figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) unveiled that full-time employees in the UK work longer hours than the EU on average (42.7 hours per week versus 41.6). This could be owing to a higher workload or due to people purely feeling the need to stay at work outside normal hours.
As a new graduate, you will always want to make a favorable impression, but it is still important to maintain a good work-life balance. In fact, efficiency at work is more important than the amount of time spent there, so you should always aim to finish your work as quickly and accurately as possible. It is not worth staying in the office after the standard hours just to make sure you are seen, even if there is nothing constructive for you to work on.
Also, you should never feel pressured to work late into the evening, and the key is to have an honest discussion with your Line Manager to see what the best solution is. In recent years, businesses have become more understanding and now offer greater flexibility in terms of working hours, including options such as working from home. Companies are now seeing that giving people freedom can actually lead to overall improvements in productivity.
Working longer hours can be rewarded with being paid overtime. However, the cost is carefully monitored by firms and they are wary of any employees frequently claiming extra hours. On the other hand, some larger firms do not offer this, since they expect you to be proactive and manage your workload, especially as you become more senior. The ONS states that managers and senior officials work on average for 46.2 hours, but 7.6 hours are unpaid. In fact, sometimes it seems like senior staff are never "off the job" since they have considerable additional responsibility such as managing people and departments.
Overall, it is important to always work hard and deliver your best, but there should be a balance between work and leisure time. Before accepting a job, it is useful to ask about the working culture and understand what is usually expected, since you don't really want to get an unwelcome surprise on your first day!
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