Kiwis work hard, but not on Friday

If a pub awaits, workers will be sure to leave on time. Photo / iStock

Kiwi workers are putting in long hours at work but are not keen on staying late on Friday, as the pub or a weekend away beckons.

A new survey from Regus, a company that operates business centres around the world, found Thursday was the most common day for New Zealanders to put in extra hours at the office.

Twenty-two per cent of people said it was the day they would most likely to stay late or work outside of normal hours.

Friday was the least common, with seven per cent of survey respondents saying that was when they were most likely to do extra hours.

Regus Australia and New Zealand chief executive John Henderson said social or cultural factors could be behind our aversion to Friday overtime, something shared by Australia.

"The results suggest Kiwis put in extra work on Thursday to make sure they can get away on time on Friday, maybe to hit the town or head away for the weekend.

"Once they get to the weekend, New Zealanders are not averse to doing a bit of work either at home or by popping into the office. One in three Kiwi workers said they were most likely to work overtime either on Saturday or Sunday, compared to one in six globally."

Mr Henderson said our overtime habits were different to workers overseas.

"Globally, Monday was the most common day for working overtime or outside of normal hours. However, it was only fourth in New Zealand with 13 per cent of Kiwis putting in extra hours on that day," he said.

Only one in eight people surveyed said they worked less than one hours overtime. Almost half of respondents, 49 per cent, worked at least six extra hours and 30 per cent worked at least eight hours.

Of those really putting in the hard yards, eight per cent said they worked 12 to 15 hours extra and 8 per cent said they worked more than 15 hours.

"New Zealand workers can be relied on to work hard but they prefer to do extra hours on some days and not others," Mr Henderson said.

"Employers need to be aware of their preferences and offer flexibility if they want to keep their workers happy."