Canadian workers are putting in free overtime and paying for it with their well-being, ADP report finds
A significant number of Canadian workers are putting in unpaid hours each week, and the problem runs deeper than the post-pandemic adjustment. That’s the central finding from ADP's latest Today at Work report, which reveals that 62 percent of workers in Canada put in up to five hours of unpaid work each week, with another 38 percent logging six hours or more.
But for Stacey Hummel, the real surprise in ADP's Today at Work report sat higher up the corporate ladder. Canadian C-suite executives are working 16 or more unpaid hours a week at a rate of 28 percent – nearly eight percentage points above the global C-suite average of 20 percent.
"Four percent of workers in Canada put up to five hours of unpaid work each week. Then we look at another 36 percent that are putting in six hours or more. That's not just working more. That's the equivalent of working two extra eight-hour days every single week," said Hummel, HR executive consultant at ADP Canada.
"They also reported feeling less productive, less likely to be thriving, and actually more likely to be looking for their next job," she said. “Ultimately, unpaid work doesn't automatically benefit an organization. It can hurt not just the bottom line, but the overall productivity of the organization."
Despite Millennial Canadian workers taking on the heaviest load of unpaid hours – 19 per cent reporting 16+ hours weekly, Hummel admits she can’t pinpoint the specific factors driving the increase. But the data itself raises questions as ADP's Happiness at Work index for March ranked millennials as the second happiest generation in the workplace, behind only boomers, with a score of 6.9 out of 10.
Additionally, their work-life balance and flexibility score came in at 6.8 out of 10, consistent with previous years.
Hummel believes this wave of unpaid overtime is different from earlier periods of workplace disruption because it no longer appears to be tied to a short-term shock. Historically, spikes in unpaid work were often linked to specific events, such as the rapid shift to remote work during the pandemic, when employees and employers were adjusting under unusual pressure.
But now, she argues, the issue has moved beyond that kind of temporary disruption and has become part of the day-to-day operating model in many workplaces, driven by an “always-on” culture.
She suggests employers should be cautious to dismiss this as another routine phase of change-related anxiety brought on by restructuring, new technology, leadership turnover, or other transitions. After all, if the pressure employees feel is no longer temporary but instead built into how work is being done, the risks become more serious and more lasting.
"If the driver for the anxiety isn't temporary in nature, but rather it's a normalized state, the jeopardy to workers sense of well-being, safety control becomes a far more permanent one," she said.
The prevalence of unpaid work should push employers to reconsider how they define and measure productivity. In her view, long hours can give the impression that employees are committed and engaged, but that also doesn’t mean they are producing better results. She argues employers should place less emphasis on time spent working and more emphasis on outcomes, focusing on the value employees create rather than the number of hours they log.
She also points to a contradiction in ADP’s research: employees who report high levels of unpaid work also tend to say they are more engaged. Consequently, those workers are less likely to feel productive, less likely to be thriving, and more likely to be searching for another job. Her point is that unpaid work should not be mistaken for a benefit to the business. If anything, it can weaken performance, damage retention, and drag on the organization’s broader productivity.
That’s why she emphasizes employers need to take a harder look at the data instead of relying on assumptions. That means reviewing historical trends, including hours worked and indicators tied to employee well-being, and using that information to shape decisions. Because unpaid work is rising rather than easing, she argues organizations need to treat past behaviour as a warning sign and respond with more deliberate, evidence-based action.
Still, while measures like Ontario’s right-to-disconnect rules matter, she suggests formal policies often fall short if workplace behaviour doesn’t change with them. If organizations want to crack down on unpaid work, she suggests the message has to come from leadership and it has to be backed by visible behaviour, not just written rules, especially because senior executives are often among the worst offenders when it comes to working extra unpaid hours.
For example, if leaders send emails late at night, work through weekends, and stay constantly available, employees will read that as the standard, regardless of what any policy says. Contrastingly, when leaders make it clear that after-hours messages do not require an immediate response, they help set healthier boundaries.
Hummel underscores employees often need direct permission from the top to step away from work outside regular hours, whether that means evenings, weekends, or vacation time.
To that end, Hummel believes the most effective way to reduce unpaid work is through better communication and clearer expectations on both sides of the employment relationship. ADP's report found that employees who worked fewer than five unpaid hours per week were more likely to say they understood what was expected of them. When employers define tasks, set priorities, and communicate the direction of the organization, workers can operate with greater efficiency.
But the responsibility doesn’t just sit with employers alone as employees also need to initiate conversations with their managers about which tasks are mission critical and which carry more lead time, particularly during high-pressure periods, said Hummel. That kind of dialogue can help rebalance workloads before they spiral.
"For employees, you're going to see an uptick in chronic illness, in chronic burnout, health decline, and a big one also is the mental health strain on your workers," Hummel said, adding for organizations, she warns the fallout includes higher turnover, the loss of key talent, declining productivity, and “essentially going to be on a path to creating a very toxic work culture," she said.
