A dramatic case recently made the headlines in Romania. 34-year-old Ramona Caciu, the mother of two, fell into a coma while at work and then died in hospital. Her death prompted suspicions relating to the exhausting extra hours she put in as an IT programmer. A week later, a female public servant working for a district municipality office in Bucharest fainted during working hours. She blamed it on the stress caused by the overwhelming workload. The public was then reminded of a similar case that took place n 2007. Back then, Raluca Stroescu, aged 32, died due to a cardiac arrest. She was alone in her empty apartment, underfed and surrounded by piles of work files. Following investigations, the audit company she had worked for was fined for failing to enforce legal requirements regulating overtime.
Given all these cases, is it safe to say that they are hiding a wider social phenomenon? Are they the extreme consequences of a situation that common in certain economic fields? If so, what are the other, less visible effects? A recent survey conducted by the Myjob online recruitment website provides an answer. Adela Rapeanu, a communication expert, gives us details:
"More than half of Romanian employees work overtime every day. 52% stay on at work after the end of their official working hours. Almost 13% of them work extra hours at least twice a week and a mere 1% work more than the required time once a month. 28% of employees only stay on an work if required specifically by their boss.’’
So the employer’s pressure is not usually what prompts additional work. It is equally true that in many cases extra work is not paid. The Territorial Labour Inspectorate in charge of verifying if labour laws are applied accordingly, periodically receives many complaints. Inspectorate director Bujor Constantin:
"Between 1,000 and 1,200 complaints are registered every month by the Labour Inspectorate. Some 5 to 10% of them refer to additional work. With the number of layoffs on the rise recently, this percentage may reach 15%.’’
More than half of the complaints submitted to the Inspectorate prove to be grounded. However, they are sent out when the working relationship ceases to exist, that is when there appears a conflict between employees and employers regarding the payment of extra hours. Director Bujor Constantin tells us more:
"Because they want to keep their job, employees do not contact the labour Inspectorate, although we intervene following any complaint about the violation of labour legislation. There are employees who won’t tell us that they work extra hours when we conduct field investigations, which makes it impossible for us to establish the facts.’’
But what motivates employees to work overtime, given that these extra work hours are not always paid? In times of financial crisis, one reason for taking on too much work is the fear of losing your job. Adela Rapeanu shares some of her experience as a recruiter working for the online company MyJob.
“I've noticed that traditionally, the main reason for working overtime, especially true for young employees, was the desire to build a career or to get a promotion. Today, the reason behind working overtime is the fear of losing their job. This explains that fact that the majority of employees who are willing to work overtime are over 45 years of age.”
However, job insecurity comes not from explicit pressure from the manager, but rather as a psychological pressure from within. Adela Rapeanu:
“Employees feel that if they work more and take on more responsibilities they will have greater chances of keeping their job. I don't think there is any case where an employment contract stipulates overtime to cover for the work done by previous employees. I believe that employees take on additional job responsibilities as an effect of the insecurity existing on the labour market.”
However, employers are not really making efforts to make this state of affairs clear, given that overtime is in the companies' benefit. One such case is that of Oana, who works for an accounting and auditing firm.
“For me, the work day begins at 8.30-9 in the morning, and sometimes ends at 6 pm, other times at 9 pm. It depends on how much work needs to be done, but generally I finish at about 8 or 9 pm. I am, somehow, forced to work overtime, as otherwise I cannot finish my tasks.”
Oana says this is her own decision and no one is forcing her to work overtime. However, working extra hours is not always rewarded financially, and what’s worse, it has made her ill:
“I've got an ulcer from fatigue and not keeping meal times. a You can get to a point where you only need to eat once a day. To some extent, you have a choice... At one point, you need to stop when you become ill, and feel that you're doing something wrong. By the time you get to that point however, the damage has been already done. The bottom line is that yes, working excessively can harm you.”
Therefore, it appears that saying “No” to floods of work assignments is the only solution to keep one's physical and mental health. Sadly, while everyone is free to make this decision in theory, not everyone can afford it. Let us not forget the case of Ramona Caciu, who died from work-related exhaustion, leaving behind two 3-year-old twins whom she wanted to offer a better life.
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2010-09-10
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