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.
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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
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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.
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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.
Manc music legends James announced MASSIVE hometown show
Danny Jones
Greater Manchester music legends James have just revealed a massive hometown show here in the city centre as part of a landmark domestic arena tour.
Daisy bucket hats at the ready.
James is arguably the epitome of what it is to be the understated, underdog British band; they’ve gone about the business of making quality music somewhat quietly for several decades now, but they’ve had a fresh wave of interest over the past year or so
Having opened up for the likes of Catfish and the Bottlemen’s comeback shows, not to mention playing multiple big festival slots in recent months alone, they’ve now announced a huge run of UK arena shows – and nowhere does a James crowd quite like us Mancs.
Details have been announced for our 2026 UK arena tour, and we’re delighted to be joined by very special guests @dovesmusicblog with tickets going on general sale this Friday at 9:30am. Access the ticket pre-sale on Wednesday via our official store: https://t.co/DwpGrAUESZ NBL x pic.twitter.com/A4CWVpCooL
Announced as part of the celebrations around their Nothing But Love ‘best of’ LP, which pulls tracks from James’ whopping 18 studio albums, the new run of UK arena shows in 2026 follows on from numerous noteworthy shows this calendar year.
In addition to the aforementioned outdoor gigs, like their stunning sold-out night at The Piece Hall in Halifax – not too far from frontman Tim Booth’s hometown in Yorkshire – the indie veterans also celebrated a huge landmark in 2025.
Surpassing the milestone of 40 years as a band, with a lineup that’s remained largely intact and only really grown in terms of live session players and touring bandmates.
The new “definitive” greatest hits record also includes two brand-new songs in ‘Wake Up Superman’ and ‘Hallelujah Anyhow’, both of which are produced by Leo Abrahams, who worked with the band on their long-awaited number one album Yummy in 2024 – a feat loooong overdue if you ask us.
As evidenced by the sheer amount of new material they continue to put out and the almost non-stop touring, they remain one of the most prolific artists in the country. FACT.
You can see the rest of James’ upcoming tour dates, including a healthy number of Northern stops in the likes of Liverpool, Leeds and more.
James UK arena tour dates 2026
Fri 2 Birmingham Utilita Arena
Sat 4 Leeds First Direct Bank Arena
Tues 7 Aberdeen P&J Live
Wed 8 Glasgow OVO Hydro
Fri 10 Newcastle Utilita Arena
Sat 11 Liverpool M&S Bank Arena
Mon 13 Cardiff Utilita Arena
Tues 14 Nottingham Motorpoint Arena
Fri 17 London The O2
Sat 18 Manchester Co-op Live
With James returning to Manchester for their Co-op Live arena debut next April, along with a sensational support slot from fellow local legends, Doves (I know, how lucky are you lot?!), you can bank on this one selling out quickly.
General admission goes on sale this Friday, 10 October at 9:30am, so you’d better be ready to grab yours in a flash.
You can find the ticket link HERE, and we’ll see you in the crowd for a good ol’ singalong.
Featured Images — Ehud Lazin/Press shots (supplied)
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Electronic icons Kraftwerk announce first Manchester gig since 2017
Danny Jones
Pioneering German band Kraftwerk have announced their first UK tour since 2017, with fans having to wait almost a decade for another Manchester gig.
Thankfully, they’ll be heading back down the Autobahn and across the channel for a return to our shores soon enough with a long-awaited list of British and Irish live dates.
Kraftwerk remains one of the most groundbreaking groups in the electronic scene to this day, having paved the way for generations of new artists to keep experimenting with the genre in the 50+ years since their formation.
Heading back to Manchester early next year, die-hards will no doubt snap these tickets faster than you can say ‘Das Model’.
For anyone unaware of these veritable legends of electronica and the world of alternative/Euro-synth pop, Kraftwerk formed all the way back in 1970 and went on to shape the modern music industry, bridging the gap between music and the digital age.
Best known for tracks like ‘Computer Love’, ‘The Robots’, ‘Pocket Calculator’ and the aforementioned on named after the national motorway network, they spearheaded futurism in the musical landscape from the outset.
It seems only fitting, therefore, that their upcoming highly anticipated return to the UK comes as part of their ‘Multimedia’ tour.
While they have played a number of live shows all over the globe this year, including an extensive run in the US, next spring will be our domestic visit from Kraftwerk in nine long years.
Credit: Press shot (supplied)
You can see the full list of UK and Ireland tour dates – including a handful of Northern gigs – down below:
Spanning a total of 15 UK dates, as you can see, there will also be tickets to see Kraftwerk nearby in the likes of Liverpool and with our mates over in Sheffield.
Kraftwerk legend Ralf Hütter famously played a set inside our city’s velodrome at the National Cycling Centre for Manchester International Festival (MIF) back in 2009, and has collaborated with the event on multiple ocassions.
In fact, that very performance was seen as a turning point for MIF, so the Manc Kraftwerk connection speaks for itself; O2 members can obviously get pre-sale, but general admission tickets go live from 9am this Friday, 10 October.
Emily Sergeant -
10th April 2024 
