Manchester has been revealed as the home of the UK’s most ‘overworked’ employees, according to a new study.
In case you weren’t aware, April is also National Stress Awareness Month, and we all know that work and our jobs can be a huge contributing factor to our stress levels – but where abouts in the country are you likely to find the people experiencing the most stress at the hands of their career? In other words, where do the most overworked employees live?
Well, in a bid to answer this question, call-answering company Moneypenny decided to carry out a survey of 1,000 UK workers to discover which cities and industries are most likely to work overtime, and the hours they clock up each month.
The survey also looked at how the working of overtime impacts on the wellbeing and personal relationships of workers.
And, unfortunately, Manchesterhas claimed the top spot on the list.
Mancs have been revealed as the most ‘overworked’ employees in the UK / Credit: Unsplash
The shocking new research found that, overall, 84% of Brits say they feel pressured to work overtime in their job, and one in four who do work overtime end up doing so without extra pay too – with the expectations of fulfilling their role’s responsibilities cited as being the top reason for people going above and beyond.
52% of survey respondents from 15 major UK cities have admitted to working overtime on a weekly basis, but when it comes to here in Manchester, that figure is even higher
Mancs who responded to the survey said they stay behind at work an average of 9.6 days each month.
Clocking up a whopping average of 31.68 hours of monthly overtime, the average weekly contracted hours of employed residents is 32, meaning Manchester workers are adding an extra week’s worth of labour onto their monthly hours.
Top 10 Most Overworked Cities in the UK
Manchester
London
Norwich
Bristol
Belfast
Sheffield
Southampton
Nottingham
Leeds
Newcastle
London, Norwich, Bristol, and Belfast are the other four cities rounding out the top five behind Manchester, while fellow Northern cities in the top 10 include Leeds and Sheffield.
The number one industry where employees were found to work the most overtime was Law Enforcement and Security, followed by Business, Consulting, and Management, IT, and Energy and Utilities, with Media and Internet closing out the top five.
The study also showed that working overtime, whether driven by job demands or economic factors, has a significant impact on lives outside of the workplace too.
More than a quarter (26%) of respondents reported that working overtime harmed their physical health, while 23% cited adverse effects on their mental health, and on top of this, more than one in six workers stated that overtime had caused relationship issues, with one in 12 even admitting that it had led to a breakup.
Darts returns to Manchester as Premier League dates are confirmed for 2026
Danny Jones
The schedule for the 2026 Premier League Darts tour has been officially announced, with the PDC’s annual championship returning to Manchester once again.
PDC Premier League fixtures continue to grow in popularity both in TV figures and live match attendance, with a whole new generation of fans getting into ‘the arrows’.
Just as it has for decades now, league darts is coming back to Manchester city centre and the legendary AO Arena once again, with our date landing right in the middle of the season.
Booking a big night right in the middle of a crucial period in the competition? It sounds like 0161 is set to welcome another blockbuster night up at the oche.
Confirmed on Thursday, 11 September, next year’s PDC Premier League Darts campaign will get underway in February, spanning the course of four months and eight countries.
Of the European cities on the circuit, the tournament will be heading to Belgium for the very first time, as the AFAS Dome in Antwerp replaces Exeter.
Elsewhere on the continent, there are two other mainland evenings in Germany and the Netherlands, along with multiple Northern dates here in the UK, such as Liverpool, Leeds and Sheffield.
As for Manchester, we’ve been selected for round nine of 17 (including the finals), with the AO Arena set to welcome multiple favoured competitors from the North West, including 18-year-old phenomenon Luke Little from down the road in Warrington, as well as Stockport’s very own Nathan Aspinall.
It was an unforgettable experience for Aspinall last time around in his local event, as he finally managed to win a PDC Premier League night on home turf for the first time in his career.
Those hoping to enjoy a night of darts in front of a Manchester crowd on April 26, 2026, still have to be patient for now, as general admission is still a little way off.
However, if you are interested, you can sign up for the AO’s newsletter to find out more information and get yourself on the waiting list early.
Better, if you go straight through the PDC, you can throw your hat in the ring for the presale window right now and be first in line to grab tickets when they go live.
You can do so HERE and, until then, get your signs and fancy dress at the ready because we’ll be heading back to the ‘boring, boring tables’ soon enough.
See the 2026 PDC Premier League Darts schedule in full down below:
Manchester City said no to a pretty significant player swap with Liverpool last year
Danny Jones
Manchester City reportedly rejected a transfer proposal involving swapping one of their youngest and most exciting stars with close rivals Liverpool in 2024
This could have proved to be an interesting one…
Man City aren’t exactly short on forwards at the moment and have brought in plenty of attacking options over the past year, and with Erling Haaland breaking all manner of records up front for them, they didn’t find it too hard to sell on another promising young striker in Julián Álvarez for a club record sale.
However, as per recent claims made by a Telegraph Sport journalist, there was a possibility of Álvarez swapping the blue of City for the red of Liverpool.
🚨🚨| In summer 2024, when Liverpool realised Luis Díaz wanted to join Man City, their recruitment team proposed the Colombian to the Etihad Stadium in exchange for Julián Alvarez. Man City said: “We don’t sell to rivals." Liverpool said: “Neither do we then."
That’s according to football writer Chris Bascombe, anyway, who recently wrote that the two Premier League sides could have engaged in a player swap deal were the division’s then Treble-winners willing to negotiate with the only other team that has really contested the title with them in recent years.
As you can see, Bascombe states that Luis Díaz wanted a switch to the Etihad Stadium even before the current English champions shuffled their front three.
This has been backed up by The Times’ Paul Joyce as well, who says that the Colombian winger was ultimately “unsettled” by interest from City and others
Díaz (who recently signed for Bayern Munich) made it clear he wanted to play under Pep Guardiola, and it seems there was at least some willingness from the Merseyside outfit.
Provided they get an increasingly wantaway Julián Álvarez in return.
With Haaland having been brought in and making himself comfortably the go-to number nine for what could very well be the next decade, they clearly saw an opportunity to offer him an alternative, but Man City simply said, “We don’t sell to rivals.”
Ultimately, the now 25-year-old World Cup winner went to Europe, joining Atletico Madrid for a whopping £81.5m.
Regardless, it seems hard to imagine not only two top-flight English teams doing a deal like this but to picture what it would have been like to see Álvarez, who was still very highly thought of among a large section of supporters, being cheered on by the fans inside Anfield.
The Argentinian striker – though he has been utilised in a variety of positions at the top end of the pitch – has well and truly shone in La Liga, and now looks like he could be set to swap Madrid for Barcelona.
Álvarez has apparently made it clear to those closest to him that he wants Barca, and despite the summer window closing, the Catalan giants could pursue a deal to sign him next year when his contract expires, or indeed, even go after him this January.
Meanwhile, after bringing in plenty of new talent over the past few months, with Manchester City now effectively being given the green light to proceed with a major commercial sponsorship deal, you could very well see yet more big money being spent in seasons to come.
Emily Sergeant -
10th April 2024 
