It doesn't get any easier: Russians are more often offered to work overtime
Businesses are increasingly looking for those who are willing to work longer than usual — the number of vacancies mentioning overtime increased by 21% in January – August 2026 compared to last year, Izvestia found out. This is how companies try to close staffing holes and save on hiring. However, this decision can only exacerbate the problem — the constant workload threatens burnout, reduced productivity and layoffs. Since September 1, employers have been given the right to increase the annual overtime limit from 120 to 240 hours. How the new rules will change the labor market and how much they will pay for the additional workload is in the Izvestia article.
Where Russians are more often offered to recycle
Employers are increasingly warning applicants that they may have to stay at work longer. For January – August 2026 at hh.ru More than 27,000 vacancies with mentions of overtime have appeared, the service told Izvestia. During the year, there were 21% more such ads.
Most often, employers from the trade sector write about recycling — retail accounts for almost every sixth such offer. Another 12% of vacancies were placed by heavy machinery enterprises, 8% each by companies from the field of electronics and construction, the ministry said. hh.ru .
Millions of Russians are already working longer hours than usual. In the second quarter of 2026, 2.4 million people worked more than 41 hours a week, the All-Russian Research Institute of Labor told Izvestia. However, the average length of the working week in the country remained at 38.2 hours.
Since September 1, businesses have been able to double the annual overtime limit from 120 to 240 hours. However, the new bar has not become common to all. To raise it, the company must consolidate this in a collective agreement or an industry agreement. If there is no such condition, the previous limit remains — 120 hours.
The restrictions for each working day have also changed. Previously, an employee could process no more than four hours in two consecutive days, now — up to four hours a day.
The amendments are designed to help businesses in the face of a shortage of employees, according to the materials to the law. The Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs previously proposed to raise the limit. According to surveys cited by the authors of the initiative, 90% of employees are willing to work longer for extra pay.
An employer cannot simply announce to an employee that he is staying late today. As a general rule, overtime work requires written consent. Exceptions are provided for emergencies and some other situations.
The first two hours of processing are paid at least one and a half times, the next — twice. Instead of money, an employee can choose an additional vacation. It is prohibited to involve pregnant women and minors in overtime work. If the employee's consent is required by law, he has the right to refuse without disciplinary action.
The All-Russian Research Institute of Labor believes that the new rules will make labor relations more flexible and expand the opportunities of both employees and companies.
Why does a business rely on recycling
Due to unfilled vacancies, companies are transferring additional responsibilities to those who already work on staff. Hiring a new person often takes longer and is more expensive than paying for overtime hours, said Olga Lebedinskaya, Associate Professor of Statistics at the Plekhanov Russian University of Economics. Sometimes this schedule is chosen by the applicants themselves who want to earn more, she added.
The demand for overtime work will continue due to the demographic situation and the slow restructuring of the education system and retraining, Olga Lebedinskaya believes. Automation and the introduction of artificial intelligence, labor inspection control and the risk of employee burnout can restrain it.
There is a particular shortage of qualified specialists on the market, said Tatiana Podolskaya, an expert at the Presidential Academy. In her opinion, the increase in the annual overtime limit actually means that it will not be possible to solve the personnel problem in the next year or two. According to the calculations of the developers of the amendments, the new rule will attract more than 750 thousand people to additional work without large-scale hiring.
However, business will not be able to use this mechanism all the time, Tatiana Podolskaya warned. The longer a person works with an increased workload, the more time they need to recover. There is also a financial limitation: starting from the 121st hour, overtime is paid at least twice the amount.
Therefore, companies will most often involve employees in processing during periods of seasonal demand, when launching projects and other peak loads, the expert believes.
Another reason is the lack of money for business development, said Natalia Garshina, Director of Organizational Development at Rusconsult Group. Expensive loans make it more difficult for companies, especially small and medium-sized ones, to invest in employees and improve working conditions. As a result, they are trying to reduce costs by increasing the burden on the existing staff, she explained.
Overwork also occurs in fast-growing organizations where the management system does not keep pace with business expansion, as well as with low productivity due to insufficient staff qualifications, Natalia Garshina added. However, such savings may lead to the departure of valuable specialists and new costs for the search, training and adaptation of employees, the expert warned.
Thus, overtime hours will become an emergency reserve for businesses rather than the new norm: they can cover peak workload, but not a chronic shortage of people.
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