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As the recession rolls on, one in five people are missing precious sleep and free-time through working longer and harder to make enough to get by.

As UK unemployment hits 2.38 million, uSwitch.com has found that workers really are pulling out all the stops to earn extra cash with 5 million consumers, that's a fifth of the nation's workforce, currently burning the midnight oil and cashing in on overtime. This has increased from just 19% of consumers in August 2008 when the recession first started to become a reality.

Much of this overtime could be due to the fact that UK workers have been subjected to pay freezes, unpaid leave, reduced hours or, for some, working for no pay at all.

Meanwhile, 2.7 million people have been forced to take on a second job in order to top up their income and make ends meet. For those people that previously had the luxury of not going to work at all times have also changed with 1.6 million rejoining the workforce in the last year.

Louise Bond, personal finance manager at uSwitch.com, says: "With unemployment levels set to rise over the coming months, it's understandable that many workers are forced to put career aspirations on the back burner and focus on keeping the money coming in. People's working habits have had to change to increase income levels which includes returning to work, picking up overtime and moving from part to full time work."

Remember, there are always alternatives to taking on extra hours is not the only way to bolster your income. A simple review of your loans, mortgage, credit cards and current accounts could save a lot of money – talk to an adviser about making the most of what you have now before taking on extra, grueling work.

SOURCE: uSwitch.com, 24/07/09

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