A new survey has revealed widespread concerns over unpaid overtime in Greece, with 42% of employees saying they receive neither payment nor official recognition for the additional hours they work.
The findings, published by recruitment platform kariera.gr, highlight the gap between Greece’s digital working-hours monitoring system and the experiences of employees who continue working after their scheduled shifts.
The survey was conducted through LinkedIn polls in September and examined how workers use the digital work card, whether they continue working after clocking out and how employers compensate additional hours.
Read more: Greece Expands Digital Work Card to 500,000 More Workers
More than one in four continue working after clocking out
While 62% of respondents said they stop working when their scheduled hours end, 26% admitted they continue working after clocking out without having the additional time officially recorded.
A further 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 results raise questions about how effectively working hours are being monitored in practice, despite the expansion of Greece’s digital work card system.
Employees face pressure to work beyond scheduled hours
The survey also examined how employees respond when managers ask them to complete tasks after they have officially recorded the end of their working day.
Some 36% said they would agree to stay if the additional hours were formally registered.
However, 25% said they would continue working without having the extra time reflected in their recorded schedule.
Meanwhile, 20% said they would refuse because their working day had ended, while 19% said they had never faced such a request.
42% say extra hours go unpaid and unrecorded
When asked how employers handle additional work on important projects, 45% of respondents said they receive payment for overtime.
However, 42% said their additional hours are neither officially recorded nor financially compensated.
Another 7% reported other arrangements, while 4% said they receive time off instead of overtime pay.
The findings point to a significant divide between employees who receive compensation for additional work and those who say their extra hours go unrecognised.
Overtime is increasingly viewed as a workload issue
The survey also explored how workers perceive regularly staying beyond their scheduled hours.
Some 36% viewed overtime as a sign of increased workload, while 34% considered it an occasional necessity during particularly busy periods.
Another 21% said additional hours were an expected part of their job.
Only 10% associated regularly working overtime with dedication to an employer.
The responses suggest that most participants see overtime as a consequence of workload demands or workplace expectations rather than a demonstration of professional commitment.
Digital work card needs to be backed by workplace change
Zenia Delagrammati, chief human resources officer at Optima Group and kariera.gr, said Greece’s digital work card could improve transparency, but technology and legislation alone would not guarantee meaningful change.
She argued that businesses must develop a workplace culture that respects employees’ working hours and encourages them to speak openly about their 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 challenges facing Greece as it seeks to strengthen protections around working time and ensure that employees are properly compensated for the hours they work.
The findings are based on LinkedIn polls conducted by kariera.gr in September and reflect the responses of survey participants, rather than a nationally representative sample of all Greek workers.
Source: Ta Nea.
