Employees are working harder to beat the recession but half have said the level of work is unsustainable.

According to the research, conducted by management consultancy Hay Group, 65% are working unpaid overtime and more than a third have increased the amount of overtime they have put in over the past 12 months.

However, 36% of employees have said they are ‘unhappy’ in their current role, and 30% rate their organisation as a worse place to work compared to 12 months ago.

Russell Hobby, associate director at Hay Group, said: “Walking around the office, leaders may feel the warm glow of a ‘Dunkirk spirit’ among teams battling the recession together.

“However, managers should beware of superficial engagement, where levels of effort and staff retention are artificially inflated by redundancy fears and a soft employment market, rather than genuine loyalty to the firm.”