A recent survey by Monster.co.uk asked just under 3000 people “Is overtime considered the norm in your workplace?”

56% find themselves regularly working extra hours for no extra cash. Only 25% are paid for extra work. Only 12% reported that overtime was the exception and 7% said that they were encouraged by managers to leave on time.

Pressures from the recession and the fear to lose the job when the unemployment rate is so high caused many people to work extra hours in the fear of being “replaced”. However, if you don’t have time for extra work – explain why you can’t do it or at least can’t do it within the proposed timescale. Be confident, sincere and calm about it. If you start sounding apologetic your colleagues could assume that with persistence or by ignoring your objections they get you to agree.

At the busiest periods in your business why not use a virtual assistant to help with the additional workload! You don’t need to “hire and fire” a VA all the time, compared with a temporary employee, spending time on training and hand over. A virtual assistant can be a great asset for any business which you can bring on board as and when required, for as many hours per day or per week as you see fit. A VA can help with general administrative duties and well as to cover the skills gap in the business – like updating the website, creating promotional materials, online marketing or book-keeping. If one of your executive assistants is on holiday or off sick, you don’t need to worry about sufficiency of cover provided by other PAs. Using a VA can provide all the support your executives need on a day to day basis.

Contact us now on 020 8144 4594 to find out more and for a free consultation.

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My workload fluctuates considerably, so I may find myself working way overtime sometimes, and a few weeks later with a lot of spare time on my hands. while I am tempted to keep the momentum going when there is not much happening, I also like to take advantage and rest a bit, because once the next project comes around, I'll be doing loads of overtime again. The secret is to maintain a balance so that overtime does not turn into overload.

Thanks Norman. Now how do I make many realise it? :)))

Your services are to considered by many here... Wishing you luck N

Look forward to meeting you. You have amazing ideas and a whole lot of knowledge! See you next week.