Leader - Work that makes us sick

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Long hours and unpaid overtime are taken for granted, says Broadcasteditor Lisa Campbell

Are you a stay-late sheep or a cat herder? A chaos theorist or a desk junkie? Or quite simply, a beast of burden? The tags refer to the kinds of people who stay late in the office: those who wait for someone else to take that first brave step out of the door (stay late sheep); those who spend most of their day flapping about their workload before finally knuckling down at 5pm (chaos theorist); and the workaholics who simply can't tear themselves away (desk junkie).

All amusing enough, but the tags are part of a serious campaign by the TUC to highlight Britain's long-hours culture and cut the amount of regular unpaid overtime. The union organisation claims that if we all began our unpaid work at the start of the year, the first day we would get paid is this Friday. The media is one of the worst offenders, with staff clocking up an average seven hours' unpaid overtime per week. Of course, broadcasting rarely fits into a neat nine-to-five day, but there is a case to be made for a culture shift for a healthier work/ life balance. While a slow decline in the number of unpaid hours is visible in some areas of the economy, in media it has hardly altered in five years.

No one minds working late when the pressure's on, but when it becomes habit - or worse, expected - serious questions need to be asked. Both individuals and managers have to take responsibility because the consequences of regular long hours are not just inefficiency but serious burn-out and ill health. Maybe TV execs are just hypochondriacs but I have been surprised by the number of people who have told me about stress-related illness they've suffered as a result of overwork. 'Putting the hours in' should not be hailed as an achievement, especially when it is completely unnecessary on a daily basis. Instead of judging people on hours worked, they should be judged on output. So it's performance, not presence.

There are many simple measures that can be adopted: reorganising workloads, delegating more effectively, supporting flexible working and so on. A more complex problem is shifting attitudes. Indeed, the TUC asserts that progress is so slow, ending regular excessive unpaid overtime will not happen until 2031!

So this Friday's Work Your Proper Hours Day should be a chance to reassess the working environment and, as the TUC suggests, for bosses to thank staff for their extra work by taking them out. I guess the drinks are on me.