Overtime is up 29 percent in workplaces, but more than half of staff - 51 percent - are not being paid for the extra hours.
File image. Photo: 123RF
A new survey of 600 organisations by recruitment firm Hays found just 13 percent managed to reduce their overtime hours over the past 12 months.
Hays New Zealand managing director Adam Shapley said "last year, tight budgets forced employers to try to achieve more with less as they navigated their way through the crisis and back to growth".
Seven in 10 employers expected skills shortages to affect their operations over the next 12 months.
"But rising overtime is not a sustainable solution, especially when we know that further pressure will be placed on workforces in the year ahead," Shapley said.
Of those organisations that increased overtime, 31 percent kept the average weekly additional hours to less than 5 percent.
A further 40 percent increased overtime by between 5 and 10 percent, while 26 percent increased it by 10 to 20 percent.
The final 3 percent saw overtime rise by more than 21 percent of the standard weekly hours worked.
"According to employers, one major impact of the skills shortage will be increasing workloads for existing staff," Shapley said.
"This is a dangerous indicator for employers, who risk their employees' engagement, retention, and physical and mental health when overtime becomes excessive."