HR and the CFO: Why employee experience under-delivers without disciplined time management

Our own research shows how excessive and unmanaged overtime is silently undermining both wellbeing and performance. The study found that 54% of UK employees work between half a day and four days of unpaid overtime each month.  That’s equivalent to a staggering 19 million days.  As a result, one in five employees say they intend to leave their employer within six months. Nearly half (49%) avoid taking on extra work, and 42% have ruled out managerial responsibility due to overwork. More than half report higher stress levels and around 41% report signs of burnout¹.

These findings should prompt pause for any organisation that assumes wellbeing programmes can offset structural workload issues. Across Europe, analysis from Eurofound also confirms that chronic overtime has measurable, harmful effects on health, motivation and productivity, especially as remote or hybrid models blur the boundary of “end of day” work.

When HR and Finance jointly steward working hours with discipline, the impact compounds. Real-time visibility of planned versus actual hours enables early intervention before stress, quality or attrition spiral. Fair and transparent scheduling reinforces equity and trust, boosting discretionary effort when it truly matters. And with cleaner labour metrics, Finance can direct EX and wellbeing budgets toward interventions with measurable operational impact, rather than scattergun perks.

Accor offers a compelling illustration of this approach. The group implemented Protime’s workforce solutions across Europe and North Africa, bringing consistency to time and attendance in a large, 24/7 hospitality operation². This infrastructure underpins clarity in scheduling, shifts, leave and fairness, supporting Accor’s internal brand promise of “Enjoy & Feel Valued”. At the same time, its broader wellbeing agenda, covering physical, mental and social health, is anchored in work practices that respect time. Their initiatives gain traction precisely because the time “backbone” is in place, not parallel.