The Dangers of Working Overtime (2024)

FAQs

What are the negative effects of working overtime? ›

Studies have shown that working too much overtime may increase your risk of: Workplace injuries from repetitive motions. Workplace accidents that cause injury. Increased blood pressure.

Working overtime is killing your productivity and work-life balance. So, in actual fact, you're not achieving anything by staying late every day after work. In fact, you could be doing yourself more harm than good by putting in overtime. That includes damage to your health and mental wellbeing!

Excessive Overtime Leads to More Workplace Accidents

In fact, some research suggests that workers who have worked 16 consecutive hours or more are three times as likely to be involved in a workplace accident.

Significant effects include stress, lack of free time, poor work-life balance, and health risks. Employee performance levels could also be lowered. Long work hours could lead to tiredness, fatigue, and lack of attentiveness.

Employees who worked 50 to 55 hours and above showed lower results on vocabulary and reasoning exams. The results provide a window into how much overtime is too much. Twenty-five percent beyond normal weekly working hours may be the acceptable limit.

You may qualify for a higher tax bracket and pay more in state or federal taxes if you earn more. Overtime earnings are taxed slightly differently than the rest of your paycheck. Overtime pay is taxed at a marginal tax rate, the total taxes paid on any additional or extra income.

But as quick fixes so often do, it can actually hurt your business in the long run. Not only does overtime mean that employers pay more for less work, but it also contributes to an unhealthy workplace culture that leads to increased stress, sick days, and higher turnover rates.

Excessive overtime leads to increased stress, burnout, fatigue, and reduced job satisfaction. Employees may experience decreased productivity, diminished focus, and a decline in overall performance.

Overtime pay is taxed like regular wages. The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) mandates that eligible workers receive at least 1.5 times their standard pay rate for hours worked beyond the typical 40-hour workweek. Overtime pay is subject to federal income tax, and Social Security and Medicare taxes.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) warns that extended work shifts “may be more stressful physically, mentally, and emotionally,” and studies show that working overtime increases the likelihood for on-the-job injuries by 61 percent. Unfortunately, there is no law against mandatory overtime.

Can you lose money working too much overtime? ›

Many people believe that if they work more hours and earn more money, they will have to pay more taxes. Although this seems like a logical sequence of events, it is not always so. In other words — it doesn't necessarily mean you'll end up making less money because of taxes that you'll have to pay when working overtime.

That's not to say that you shouldn't work hard, but working long hours for consecutive weeks only to prove a point diminishes the value of your time and effort. In addition, it also makes it look like you're desperate for attention or approval, which most employers see as a sign of weakness.

Health Concerns

Additionally, excessive overtime can take a toll on an employee's mental health. Studies show that those who work too much overtime are often more likely to struggle with mental health concerns, such as increased substance use, higher depression rates, and increased suicide rates.

In most cases, employees cannot refuse to work overtime. Should they refuse, they may be subjected to discipline or get fired.

In California, employers lawfully must pay nonexempt employees one and one-half times their normal working wages for every hour worked more than 8 in one workday or 40 in a workweek. If an employee making $10 works 5 hours of overtime in a workweek, for example, he or she would receive $75 in overtime pay.

Decreased Productivity

Sadly, this is not true very often. While the employee has more time to do things it does not necessarily mean that more things are done. Working overtime causes stress, exhaustion, and fatigue which negatively affect productivity. So, very often working long hours leads to less productivity.

Employees who work excessive overtime typically experience increased fatigue, which can lead to workplace accidents. Shift workers especially are at risk since they typically work fewer days per week but long hours on their workdays.

Excessive overtime leads to increased stress, burnout, fatigue, and reduced job satisfaction. Employees may experience decreased productivity, diminished focus, and a decline in overall performance.

Shift work and long work hours increase the risk for reduced performance on the job, obesity, injuries, and a wide range of chronic diseases. In addition, fatigue-related errors could harm patients.