How long does the average UK employee spend at work?

British workers will spend an average of 3,515 full days at work over the course of their lifetime.

The average person will also work 188 days of overtime during their professional life.

The Association of Accounting Technician’s (AAT) new study has analysed some key metrics around our working lives and what this shows about the UK’s attitudes towards work.

British employees will averagely work for 34 hours and 26 minutes a week, adding up to a total of 1,795 hours a year, and 84,365 hours over a lifetime.

According to the Accountancy Age Salary Survey 2018, accountants in practice work an average of 42.09 hours a week and industry accountants work a slightly higher average of 43.05 hours a week, showing accountants work significantly longer hours than usual.

People in the UK are also working eight hours of overtime every month, totalling 4,512 hours during an average career.

Rachel Kellett, head of qualifications and product development at AAT, said: “With careers having such a big impact on our lives, it’s important to make sure that we are in the right one.”

Perhaps more important to companies is the fact that workers will claim £134,617.84 in expenses over the course of their professional lives.

Work and wellbeing

Concerningly, over a lifetime of working, British employees will have nearly three months off sick, a total of 94 days.

Average commuter times are also hefty, with workers travelling for a total of 13,356 hours, amounting to 94,450 miles.

Can you guess how many office romances and arguments the average person has?

According to the AAT, people have six office romances and 812 arguments at work over their career. Perhaps what gets them through the tough days are the 7,989 rounds of tea or coffee they will brew for themselves or their colleagues.

Kellett added: “It’s easy to look at these figures and get the impression that working life can become something of a grind, resulting in a carousel of commuting, overtime and cups of tea.

“It’s important to make sure you are happy with your career. If you’re not, considering retraining for could help make you more content.”

Career changes

Survey respondents suggest the average employee has stayed in the same job for the last six years.

Time spent in jobs varies according to UK region. In the South West of England it is only four and a half years since the average worker changed jobs while in London people tend to spend seven years in jobs.

The results also suggest that we think about changing careers entirely ten times a year.

Kellett concluded: “Despite what some people might think, you can make a change at any point in your life – we have people studying finance qualifications while in their 70s.”

It’s easy to think that you need to start as an apprentice or entry level graduate if you want a successful accountancy career, when actually you can retrain to become an accountant at any time.