Yikes! New Jerseyans worked a crazy amount of unpaid hours last year

It’s a painful reality for much of the workforce in New Jersey that the days of having a 9 to 5 job is increasingly becoming a thing of the past.

Whether you’re working overtime by answering emails after hours, hopping on phone calls before you’re even in the office or putting in extra time on weekends, it’s becoming harder and harder to avoid working more hours than you’re paid for.

A study was recently put out by Rebel’s Guide to Project Management that reveals some startling numbers on this trend, I can pretty much guarantee you’ll find it as disturbing as I did.

"We were surprised to see that employees are working over the equivalent of a month’s effort on average – for free, and above and beyond their normal hours," says Elizabeth Harrin of Rebel’s Guide to Project Management.

3,000 respondents were asked how many unpaid overtime hours they worked per week in 2023. On average, workers across the U.S. contributed an additional 4.5 hours per week for no compensation. This totals an extra 233 hours annually.

Montana had the best result of the 50 states, they only had an increase of .6 hours per week in overtime. However, those in New Hampshire had a rough time at work last year, averaging 9.9 more non-compensated hours each week.

How many unpaid hours are New Jersey workers putting in?

The average New Jerseyan worked 4.2 more hours per week than what they were paid for, compared to 2022, which equates to 220 hours over the course of 2023.

For the state as a whole, this adds up to 1,271,417,139 hours.

You read that right: 1.2 billion hours of unpaid work in the Garden State.

What can we do to help fix this problem?

Rebel’s Guide to Project Management recommends employees set boundaries with employers. Make use of your “out of office” message to let others know when you’re unavailable. Open communication about when you need personal time could help avoid burnout.

You can see the full results of their study here.

Here's hoping our numbers are more reasonable in 2024.

The post above reflects the thoughts and observations of New Jersey 101.5's Kylie Moore. Any opinions expressed are Kylie's own. You can follow Kylie on Instagram.

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