A new report has found just how overworked Australians are, and what a threat it can be to mental and physical health and safety.

Research by The Australia Institute under the title ‘Hard To Get a Break?’ has polled workers across the country, finding that more than half say they are unhappy with their work hours.

The survey focused on both overworked and underworked respondents, the latter being those who cannot fully engage with working life as much as they would like.

The survey of over 1400 workers was conducted in collaboration between The Australia Institute and mental health advocates beyondblue.

beyondblue CEO Kate Carnell AO says something is wrong when people are working longer and harder, but productivity does not increase.

“If you’re ‘under the pump’ consistently, it can lead to sustained job stress which is linked to depression and anxiety. Depression costs Australian businesses $12.3 billion every year through absenteeism, reduced productivity and staff turnover. So business owners need to wake up to the fact that poor work/life balance takes its toll on both their employees and their businesses,” said Ms Carnell.

The survey was released in the lead-up to Go Home on Time Day on October 20 – an effort to make people keep the hours they signed on for, and get home with some time to spare.

“Go Home on Time Day is a light-hearted way to start a serious conversation and when so many people say work – either too much or not enough – is making them anxious then it’s clearly a conversation that needs to be had. Managers see first-hand how productivity is affected when workers feel stressed or anxious. That’s why we’re encouraging businesses to participate,” said Dr Richard Denniss, Executive Director at the Australia Institute.

Go Home on Time Day may be a valuable reminder that there is life beyond work. For the approximately 3.3 million Australians that the study says can’t sleep due to overworking, it could be the few hours that rights the ship.