Would your workplace give you 6½ weeks of extra leave each year for free? Not likely.

Then, you have to ask yourself, why it is that tens of thousands of full-time Australian workers make a gift to their employers of roughly 266 hours of unpaid overtime each year?

The Australia at Work study, which is tracking 8000 workers over five years, has found that the global financial crisis has done little to reduce work hours.

Australians still average 44.4 hours a week on the job, a rate that has not reduced in the past two years despite the GFC.

This figure is higher than in Britain and the US yet our unemployment rate of 5.7 per cent is significantly lower than in either country.

Electronic engineer Prakesh* worked a minimum of 10 hours a day during the week and went into work at least one day on the weekend.

"I was worried that if I didn't show how loyal I was to the company, I'd be the first one they'd consider letting go during this tough climate," he says.

When he was retrenched he realised this seemingly negative situation was a positive one.

"Working myself to death wasn't making me happy or making the company value me any higher than anyone else," he says.

"It forced me to reassess what was important. My new job pays lower but my hours are reasonable."

The ABS has found that 50 per cent of workers have some say in what time they start and finish work and, not surprisingly, the people who worked the standard full-time hour range of 35-39 hours a week were the most content.

On the flip side, half of those surveyed who worked more than 49 hours a week said they wanted to work fewer hours and accept less pay. Sam is a nurse who negotiated a four-day week.

"I earn less but the bills are paid and I have more time for friends and family. I used to work overtime without pay a few years ago but was left feeling exhausted and irritable and my relationship suffered."

Graeme was retrenched after nearly 20 years with a major bank and now works part-time as a tax consultant.

"The payout meant that I could ease back on working hours but even without it, I'm able to live on what I earn now and appreciate the extra free time I get."

Smarter managers are also acknowledging face time isn't necessarily effective time.

Team leader Cathryn says: "If someone's in the office at 8am and logs off at 8pm, I don't assume that they're a star, I wonder why they're not as efficient or organised as the others who can do a good day's work in normal hours.

I certainly don't want the rest of my team to think that that's what you have to do in order to be seen as successful."

IT programmer Iain recognises that overwork erodes productivity. When workloads became untenable, he instituted a No Interruptions roster.

"We each get to select a morning or afternoon when we can work without any interruptions.

This rule is absolute and everyone knows that the person with the No Interruptions sign is to be left alone to do their work.

The others answer their calls, take messages or even step in and deal with minor tasks so that the person's time and space is respected."

He reports that morale and productivity have increased and "everyone looks forward to their turn".

How to work smarter

 - Do the most important thing first. Use the first hour to work on important tasks only and don't check your emails until this hour has finished.

 - Arrange to work from home when urgent projects need to be completed without interruptions.

 - Work at your peak times - night owls v early birds. Block out that chunk of peak productivity time to devote to in-depth tasks.

 - Book time to work on your own tasks, respecting it as you would a meeting with an external client.

 - Black-out your availability after 4pm - it's too late for a meeting and should be used to finalise your most pressing jobs.

 - Say "no" if a work request is unreasonable. The author of Brazen Careerist, Penelope Trunk, is blunt but right: "If someone is asking you to do more than you feel able to   do, and you're doing it, it's probably your fault, not your boss's."

 - Delegate. Leave on time and turn off your mobile. It might feel scary at first, seeing those are-you-leaving-already looks, but others will soon join you.


*Names changed for anonymity. Do you work for free? Tell us at mycareer.com.au/vote


By Kath Lockett, via The Sydney Morning Herald