Poll: Do you keep working after you've left the office?

For business owners in particular, it can be hard to stick to regular hours.

By Conor McMahon Deputy editor, Fora

WHEN YOU’RE RUNNING your own business, it’s rarely a case of punching in and out at regular hours.

So says Gina Miltiadou, the managing director of Zahra Media Group, the publisher of Easy Food and Easy Parenting magazines.

She recently told Fora that she works until 6pm ever day but often does a few hours work at home after her children go to bed.

“I think when you’re running your own business it’s never a nine-to-five thing, unfortunately,” she said. “Obviously we’re so deadline-driven too, so it depends on what’s going on. It often requires a bit of extra time.”

While many business owners likely put in a few hours overtime at home, what about staff?

A CPL survey last year showed that two-thirds of Irish employers think it’s reasonable to expect workers to check emails outside of working hours.

However another recent Fora interviewee, GoCar chief Colm Brady, said he discourages the practice of staff working out of hours.

“I have seen the strain it can put on an individual,” he said. “I would try to mentor away from it.”

With that in mind, we’re asking Fora readers this week: Do you keep working after you’ve left the office?