A total of 47% of all men said they worked harder than their friends

The UK at Work report from Intelligent Finance also found that 7% work more than 60 hours a week.

The Working Time Directive states that people should only work a 48-hour week.

Welsh people are also less likely than elsewhere in the UK to reward themselves by taking holidays or dining out, it is claimed.

The research found that 73% of the UK's working population regularly work over and above their contracted hours, but those in Wales work the longest, it says, putting in an average of 40.53 hours per week.

A total of 44% of workers in Wales are also regularly at their desks before their contracted hours, significantly higher than the 39% across the rest of the UK.

Efforts

But many feel that their efforts are not rewarded, according to the finance website.

Only 39% of Welsh workers feel they are awarded with monetary compensation, and only 34% feel that they are rewarded with progression in their careers.

They are also less likely than elsewhere in the UK to reward themselves by taking holidays, dining out, or splashing out on luxury goods.

Grenville Turner, chief executive of Intelligent Finance said: "We all work hard for our money, so it makes sense to manage it wisely.

"With all the hours we work, it can be tough to find time to sort out your finances but it is worth the effort."

It was also found that 47% of all men said they worked harder than their friends.

A further 44% said they worked harder than their colleagues.

We asked for your comments and below are a representative balance of those we received. This Have Your Say is now closed, but thanks to everyone who contributed.

Your comments:

Why do Welsh work the longest? Easy - they can't stand up for themselves at work against bully-style bosses and aren't adventurous when it comes to working in another city/country. They also have to spend longer on the phone talking as a lot of people can't understand a broad Welsh accent! As my Welsh mother and grandmother always said: "Nothing's impossible if you put your mind to it!" IF you want to do something, do something about it instead of standing there like a daffodil!
Liz, Sydney (but of Welsh origin)

I've had to work my day off for the last eight weeks because my employer refuses to believe that we are under-staffed, if they were to come down to our office rather than sit on their backsides in HQ they might see how difficult a working week really is, I`m exhausted and am really thinking about chucking it all in.
Dylan, Pwllheli

There's a huge amount of people working in call centres and the service industry in Wales for about 10 pence an hour. If they want to make some decent money then they have to work ridiculous hours. The assembly has questions to answer about this as they encouraged the relevant companies into Wales in the first place.
Giles Clinker, London, UK

Because they have a fear culture. After working in London for 10 years I returned to Wales to find cronyism and back stabbing. People were scared not to be around incase someone would be talking about them. My wife who worked in Cardiff didn't belive me untill she went to work in Caerphilly What a difference she saw!
Gareth Lewis, Cardiff_Wales

I have family and friends living in England and they look at me in disbelief when I tell them we still work up to 60 hours a week in our factory on Anglesey. Many of the workers don't complain in case they are sacked, which many are threatened with. We have no choice but to work this hours due to lack of work on the island.
Andrew Fergunson, Gaerwen

Because of the smarmy comment from the boss. Such as 'half day is it?', when they know damn well that you've been in the office since the crack of dawn.
Caryn, Merthyr Tydfil, S Wales

The reason we work longer hours is because we have to make the most of it while we can, as most of our jobs are going to India
Kelvin Richards, Aberdare

The UK government were the only member state to make wide use of the 'opt out' clause, after contesting the validity of the working time directive and losing. They have dragged their heels in every way to reduce the efficacy of the working time regulations (WTR) and fail continually to set a realistic minimum wage to prevent the poorer members of society from having to opt-out of the protection the WTR provides them in order to maintain some sort of reasonable standard of living. The EU have recently conducted a consultation into the use of opt-outs. Hopefully they will then force the UK government to provide a decent minimum wage, allowing workers to reduce the hours they work.
Andy, Flint

I think the reason so many people work long hours is due to low pay. My family live in Pembrokeshire, my mother & sister both work three jobs just to make ends meet. The cost of living isn't much different to less rural areas, yet Pembrokeshire jobcentres are full of jobs advertising "national minimum wage satisfied" as the going pay rate. I'd love to move back to my home area, but am prevented by from doing so by salary/ house price issues. The employer demands are much higher than for similar positions in areas with more job availability. I choose to forego the undoubted pleasures of living in a beautiful area to avoid low pay & bullying bosses!
Nathan, formerly of Pembroke, West Wales

...not all Welsh workers are in Wales... I've averaged a 45-hour week in London for the last seven months before taking a few days holiday holiday last week. Not that I'm complaining of course... as I'm off for another three weeks in four days time
Alan T, London

This is one of those areas where we are all to blame. Too many employers look at the short-term benefits of having their employees work excessive hours, rather than looking at the negative long-term effect this has on employee productivity and commitment, and in sickness and turnover costs. On the other hand, too many employees insist on living to the edge of their borrowing limits, and are consequently forced to work excessive hours. It's time we all learned to work smart rather than working hard!
Tim Watkins, Cardiff

Why do we work faster and harder now when we have all this technology? I remember times when shops were not open on Sundays and we were not so hurried in our work and ways. Look at us now, we spend more time getting to work stuck in traffic jams or rail breakdowns and society is paying for the less time parents spend with their children. Workers deserve to have more time off in britain to come in line with the rest of the E.C. We are being worked to burnout quicker.
Shireen Hughes, Wrexham, Wales

In my experience the Welsh work longer hours because the wages are so low. I really don't think it's because we enjoy it.
Helen Witcombe, Pontypool