And why working long hours is not the solution

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We all have heard that hard work is the key to success and quotes like “Work hard, dream big” resonate with us. Working long hours and running the extra mile should definitely pay right? What if I told you that this is not the case.

We always have some incomplete work at the end of the day and there never seems to be enough hours in the day to get everything done. Therefore, we pull those extra shifts and work long hours. But is it the solution? Research suggests otherwise.

Life is all about balance, too much excess is chaos.

You might find yourself many times overworking yourself, expecting all the exertion to pay off. It is not wrong to overwork ourselves once in a while, especially when deadlines are around the corner, however, research shows that continuing this habit of working long hours does more bad than good.

1. Productivity and hard work don’t go hand in hand

Working more hours doesn’t mean that you get more work done. As per the Bureau of Labor Statistics, productivity increases marginally despite the fact that people are working more than ever. Hard work makes us judge our work by the amount of time we put into it rather than what we accomplished, and you don’t have to be a rocket scientist to know that *time is a wrong metric to judge work. Moreover, working long also impacts our ability to reason.*

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Sometimes it is best to give in to procrastination as it provides great leverage for efficiency*. It does not mean that you have to wait until the last hour to start working.*

“Work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion” — Parkinson’s Law

Start using a to-do app to measure the amount of work you have done throughout the day. This will give you a true picture of exactly how productive your day has been. I recommend you should not limit the to-do list to your work only, rather include your personal tasks for the day as well to the list.

2. Long work hours adversely affects your health

According to the *American Stroke Association,* studies have shown that working for an extended period of time and making it a part of the daily routine increases your risk of having a stroke. Additionally, irregular work hours also contribute to an unhealthy lifestyle and well-being.No work should be more important than health.

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Sitting in a single place for hours staring at a screen can cause computer vision syndrome, while also leading to poor blood circulation. High blood pressure and sugar are some of the other common problems faced due to lack of movement.

You can’t enjoy the wealth if you are not in good health

Fiverr, the on-demand service to hire people to do gigs for you, recently printed ads embracing the sleep deprivation and heavy intakes of caffeine. This obsession with working to death is easier to accept than to fight a flawed economic system. Even research depicts the strong negatives caused by sleep deprivation, the most common effect being depression and hypertension.

Another factor to take into consideration is the intensity of work. Working hard is more harmful than working long hours. This actually one of the more pressing issues as it leads to burnout and the only way to avoid it is taking breaks for mental and physical recovery.

3. Smart work outweigh hard work

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Many people confuse the meaning of smart work or at worst, consider smart work an excuse for laziness. Smart work simply means understanding the task at hand, proper planning the execution, and giving intense targeted effort.

In fact, Silicon Valley and many other industries are realizing the benefits of smart work. Uber has even changed its mantra from “work smarter, harder, and longer” to “work smarter”.

“Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the ax.” - Abraham Lincoln

The quote above can be summed up as a proper definition of smart work. In those six hours, you can tirelessly try to chop the tree, maybe you will manage to chop it down too but the more efficient way is to first sharpen the ax.

The takeaway is that **while working smart, planning, and analyzing the task at hand are the hardest parts.** It does not mean taking shortcuts or using unethical practices. Additionally, smart work contributes to consistent quality work as well.

4. It sends a bad signal

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When you work 70 or 80+ hours a week, it indicates that you are overwhelmed by your work. It obliquely tells your boss and peers that you are not able to cope up with the given tasks, let alone taking more responsibilities.

Most households run on dual salaries and when you work those 80 hours a week, you imply that your work is more important than your partner’s work and that you aren’t making the relationship a priority. A Korn Ferry survey reveals that 76% of US workers said that work stress affected their personal lives. This stress is counterproductive and makes you avoid the realities of relationships. Instead of discussing our feelings, we zero-in on our inboxes.

Don’t let your struggle become your identity

When you prioritize your job and work 70+ hours a week, you indirectly tell others that your personality has taken a back seat. It also indicates that you have nothing to talk to them about except work.

5. Work-life balance is affected

We all have 24 hours a day, and if you are devoting a large chunk of your time to work, consequently you are cutting time from your personal life.

In layman's term, work-life balance is separating your personal and professional life while understanding that both are vital and neither should be neglected.

*Research conducted this year has highlighted that an equilibrium has to be maintained between your paid and unpaid responsibilities, and how the definition of work-life balance is always evolving.*

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Working extra hours set up high expectations. You and your dear ones expect the results of hard work to pay off usually in terms of salary increment; this may lead to disappointment, eventually affecting your mental health.

In the modern world, it is near impossible to maintain a perfect schedule, hence the focus should be on maintaining a realistic one. It’s better to think of work-life balance as work-life choices and understanding that each choice has consequences. Understand that a balance has to be maintained overall and not each day. You might prioritize work some days, while other days you might relax and spend time with your friends and family.

Work-life balance is imperative because at the end of the day you’re working to make a living.Don’t get so busy making a living that you forget to make a life.

If you are a workaholic and can’t stop working then it is better to be self-employed. When you work a job, there is always a ceiling of your income, but when you are self-employed, you can turn those extra hours of work into money. Channelizing your energy in the right direction will add a purpose to your life and send a positive vibe to everyone you meet.

Excess of anything is bad despite our intentions. A shoe troubles if it’s too loose or too tight however it provides comfort if it’s of the correct size.

This is very much applicable to your professional duties as well. It was a norm for employees to work 80–100 hours per week a century ago. But on May 1, 1926, Ford Motor Company became one of the first companies in America to adopt a 40-hour week for workers, five days a week. In today’s time, even a 9–5 or 40-hour week can be considered dead as many companies are giving their employees flexibility to choose their own schedule. One such company is Reusser Design.

My intention is not to convince you to work less, but to show that working long hours does not guarantee a brighter future. The only way to get most work done is to attain a work-life equilibrium and practice a ‘peak-productivity’ schedule.