#PandaPounds 2019: Overtime in ecommerce

Are ecommerce professionals working too much overtime every week? We all know the world of online retail is busy, even when it’s not a holiday like Christmas or Valentine’s day! Does this mean those working in the industry have to complete extended stints at their desk to make things happen?

In our latest #PandaPounds exclusive, we look at overtime in the ecommerce industry, using stats from our 2019 ecommerce salary survey & insights report!

Contracted working hours in ecommerce

Before we delve into hours and hours of overtime, it’s good to understand the contracted working hours across the ecommerce industry. Here’s what our salary survey respondents told us…

• 35 hours per week: 12% (15% in 2018)
• 37.5 hours per week: 51% (46% in 2018)
• 40 hours per week: 31% (32% in 2018)
• Other: 6% (as some of our respondents are contracting, they make up most of this group, telling us the hours are variable.)

We can see a slight shift towards a 37.5 hour week becoming more common, with now over half of our respondents working these contracted hours. There was one comment from the ‘other’ respondents that stood out…” I will work what is required.” It raises the question once again; does such a busy industry mean the people within it have to simply accept longer hours? Let’s find out as we find out all about overtime in ecommerce…

How much overtime do ecommerce professionals complete?

We’re all guilty of checking emails here and there, but do you add on hours to your contracted time because you can’t drag yourself away? Perhaps the workload is too much, so you feel it has to be done? Let’s find out how much overtime is being done across the industry and if there has been any change from last year…

As we can see, the majority work about 2-3 hours overtime on average, which hasn’t changed from 2018. The number of respondents doing 3-5 hours has fallen from 2018, with more people completing smaller amounts in 2019. So, it seems that there has been a slight shift when it comes to overtime in ecommerce. Are manager’s doing more to encourage a better work-life balance in their teams and lessen the workload?

When asked where they complete overtime, 75% of respondents told us they would do it in the office environment. 64% said they would complete extra hours of work at home, while 13% will do overtime on their annual leave! (Note: respondents could select more than one answer for this question, so totals do not equal 100%)

How do ecommerce professionals feel about overtime?

Are ecommerce professionals happy with the amount of overtime they work? As we can see on the chart, 65% don’t mind…is this enough? How many times have you been asked ‘which movie would you rather watch’ and you shrug it off with a ‘I don’t mind?’ It doesn’t evoke passion for what you’re doing or saying, it says you’re simply willing to go with the flow.

There has also been a 2% increase in those who are unhappy about overtime from 2018, while the 8% who are happy remains unchanged. For those who specified ‘other’, answers include; comes with the job, it’s fine if flexibility is offered, mixed feelings and a few who say it is voluntary and their choice. Others said if they are paid for it, that would be fine…currently, 95% of our respondents are not paid for any overtime.

Work-life balance & overtime

Do feelings of having a good work-life balance change the more overtime you do? We decided to look at the different time brackets of overtime our respondents do each week, and how the people who selected them feel about their work-life balance…

• No overtime: Of those who do no overtime in the week, 82% are happy with their work-life balance…not a bad number! That leaves 5% who aren’t happy and 13% who aren’t sure. Despite not doing overtime, there are other factors that could contribute to this; normal contracted hours, workload and even the commute all have a part to play.
• A few minutes here and there (mainly checking emails): 71% of these respondents are happy with their work life balance. 13% are unhappy and 26% are not sure of their feelings on the subject. While it doesn’t sound like a lot, perhaps the need to check emails stem from workload or pressure from management, which leads to people being in work mode constantly. Should this be discouraged?
• 30 mins – 1 hour: 64% of these respondents are happy about their current work & play time! We can already see this number decreasing with every time bracket we get to…will the trend continue?
• 2 – 5 hours: It looks like the trend does indeed continue – 53% of respondents who do more than 2 hours of overtime a week are happy with their work-life balance! 28% are unhappy, while 29% are not sure.

It’s not completely surprising to see this. The more people are working, be it in the office or at home, their brains are never fully focused on other important things in their lives. Manager’s should be doing more to speak to employees and making sure they aren’t being pushed away by heavy workloads.

Time for a breather…

Phew! That is certainly a lot to take in. However, there will be plenty more #PandaPounds exclusives to come. In the meantime, you can download a free copy of the full salary survey report below…