*The value of the unpaid overtime worked in Australia is over $70 billion a year*

Ah, those poor, downtrodden workers. I read that statistic somewhere else and
had a bit of a chuckle.

Did the author deduct the amount of time wasted by employees,
fooling around on Facebook, Twitter and the rest of the internet,
whilst at work?

Lets be honest here. Of the 7.5 hours per day that many spend
at their desks, how many hours are they really being productive?

The biggest time waster that I can see, is people travelling to
and from work. On average I gather its around 230 hours a year.
Find a job close to home, or work from home, bingo, all that time
saved.

<< Go Home on Time Day also provides an opportunity for workers to discuss their working hours with their managers in a positive and non-threatening way. >>

Interesting point Josh. Yes it does provide an opportunity, but unfortunately for a lot of us, talking to our managers / supervisors / bosses about things like this is not easy. The risk of it ending badly, with us just being smartly put back into our boxes, the boss becoming a bit annoyed about being asked for shorter or more flexible hours or whatever, and damaged relations resulting, is very real.

By crikey, I know all about this, with my totally reasonable and proper attempts over the last few years to strive for a better work/life balance and be a better contributor to my institute. I've incurred some badly damaged relationships.

What has made it really hard for me is that we are encouraged in our code of conduct to do this, but we have senior managers who just don’t seem to even know that the code of conduct exists!

I wonder how many people have experienced this sort of thing or can see the dangers in pushing, even really gently, for a more desirable arrangement in their working lives, and choose to just remain quiet and cop the stress or long hours or other negative aspects of their jobs, rather than risk making things worse by trying to make them better?

I agree Yabby, but we do often hear articles about how much facebook, having a smoke, going to the toilet is 'costin' us' in productivity.

It's a stalemate. The work culture demands that you be there well after quittin' time, so one may as well take the piss during the day.

It's a bit sad. I for one could fulfil my responsibilities in about 3 days a week if I wanted to, but that would just mean that my employer would pile on all sorts of unnecessary tasks or just retrench me for the time I am not working like a dog.

Work waxes and wanes throughout the year, but I must be at work for 'appearances' 830-530 (And if one leaves before 6, they have a bad attitude). The kind of adult relationship where a boss trusts an employee to just get the job done and work whatever hours necessary throughout the year just doesn't exist. So why should a worker work flat chat when they have everything under control? Anyway you just cant work flat chat all year round while still putting in extra free hours for the peak loads.

Imagine turning up to an interview and asking if it is acceptable to leave on time most days. The message the employer would read from that is that you're not willing to go the extra mile to impress him, or worse you're a 'work-to-rule' type who is, shock horror, out the door as soon as it's quittin' time.

All this is the reason the NBN is a waste of money if people think it's to enable workers to telecommute. We could all be doing it now, but the bosses of the world are terrified they won't be able to regulate your toilet brakes and make you ALT-TAB when they walk past.

<< The biggest time waster that I can see, is people travelling to and from work. >>

Yes Yabby. Boy, I really regret moving to the rural residential edge of town with respect to the daily trip to work.

I used to easily be able to cycle to work. Now I’ve got to drive … and I’ve got to avoid the bloomin morning and evening peak hour clog!!

It’s nice to be on acreage, but yes it has come at a cost. I wish to goodness I could work at home some of the time, or work a four day week, which I have proposed.

No reason at all why I couldn’t work a 9.5 hour day and therefore do my weekly hours in four days. But my proposal was just knocked on the head, straight-up, for no good reason at all by my Director, despite his boss the Director General encouraging us to explore this sort of thing!!

Hmm, I rather split here on this article. I like the less work angle but I loath the anti-growth aspect. By growth I mean maximising one's opportunities at work and earn what bonuses or capital that may come.

Personally, part time is the way to go. I work .8 for an NGO and I still have time to run my little business. I tend to look at the supply side of work with older people not being able to downgrade to part time, or people over 50 not being able to find a job but there's no shortage of workplaces out there which are like psychic prisons.

I laugh when people say that workers are as productive at 5.00 pm as they are at 10.00 am. Not if you're over 40. Most productive work (office) is done before 2.00 pm.

A good article on an important subject.

My most productive time is 4pm-8pm. Cant do any work before mid-day.