Μake us preferred on Google Nearly half of workers who participated in a recent survey by Greek recruitment platform kariera.gr said they are not paid for overtime, highlighting gaps between the use of Greece’s digital work card system and employees’ experiences in the workplace.
The survey, conducted through LinkedIn polls in September, examined how employees use the digital work card, whether they continue working after recording the end of their shifts and how employers handle additional hours.
Although most respondents said they stop working when their scheduled hours end, more than one in four reported continuing to work without having the extra time officially recorded.
More than one in four keep working after clocking out
According to the survey, 62% of respondents said they leave work and disconnect when their scheduled hours end. However, 26% said they continue working after clocking out, without the additional time being recorded.
Another 7% said they did not know whether their extra hours were registered, while just 3% reported continuing to work with the additional time properly recorded.
The findings point to differences in how employees and businesses handle the end of the working day, with some employees stopping work once they clock out and others continuing without formally documenting the additional hours.
Employees divided over requests to work beyond scheduled hours
The survey also examined how employees respond when a manager asks them to finish a task after they have already recorded their departure.
Some 36% said they would agree to stay if the additional working time were officially registered. Another 25% said they would continue working without having the extra hours reflected in their recorded schedule.
Meanwhile, 20% said they would decline the request because their workday had ended, while 19% said they had never faced such a situation.
The responses suggest that employees take different approaches to requests for additional work, with some seeking formal recognition of their extra hours and others agreeing to continue without recording them.
42% say overtime goes unpaid and unrecorded
When asked how additional work on an important project is handled, 45% of respondents said they are paid for their overtime.
By contrast, 42% said their extra hours are neither officially recorded nor compensated. Another 7% said overtime is handled through other arrangements, while 4% receive additional time off instead of financial compensation.
The three-percentage-point gap between those who said they receive overtime pay and those who reported working extra hours without compensation was one of the survey’s most notable findings.
Most employees do not see overtime as a sign of dedication
Respondents were also asked how they interpret employees regularly working beyond their scheduled hours.
Some 36% viewed overtime as a sign of an increased workload, while 34% considered it an occasional necessity during busy periods. Another 21% said working extra hours was an expected part of the job.
Only 10% associated overtime with an employee’s dedication to their work.
The results suggest that most participants see additional working hours as a response to increased demands or temporary business needs rather than a measure of an employee’s commitment to a company.
Digital work card requires a workplace culture of respect
Zenia Delagrammati, chief human resources officer at Optima Group and kariera.gr, said the digital work card could help improve transparency but that legislation and technology alone would not bring about meaningful change.
“The digital work card creates the conditions for greater transparency, but meaningful change does not come solely through legislation and systems,” she said.
She added that businesses must foster a culture that respects employees’ working time and allows them to speak openly about their everyday experiences.
“The goal is not simply to record working hours correctly, but to manage our time and our people better,” Delagrammati said.
The survey highlights the gap between the formal recording of working hours and what happens in practice when employees continue working after their declared departure time.
Information from tanea.gr
