Is it possible to work too hard?

[even_sven]

Man, my work week just got bumped up to 20 hours, and I’m really feeling the pain. I really don’t know how you all do it.

Then again, I only get paid six bucks a day.

But really, the absurdity of working sixty hours a week is one of the main reasons why I don’t want to go back to America. We work so hard- and why? All anyone in this world wants is time with their family and friends.

[SomeBodyUK]

Absolutely you can work too hard. My previous company had a culture where most employees were expected to be there from 8 or 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., then take their laptops home with them, usually logging on by 8 or 9 p.m. I was told that I should send e-mails to key individuals at 10 or 11 p.m. to “manage perceptions.”

My workplace gave us all laptops, and some of my coworkers do take their laptops home with the evenings. I refuse to do that, I also refuse to work weekends - fuck them. I don’t get paid to work at home. They’re already taking the piss with the unpaid overtime.

How’s about this then - I joined on a rotational programme, where I do 3 stints of a year each. I definitely won’t be considered for promotion for at least 2 years. Also, I know for a fact, that until July at least, I will get no bonus, and no raise. Is there any reason why I should go the extra mile for these guys? 2 of my coworkers are not motivated at all and are already looking to leave.

We’ve got a new CFO, who I don’t deal with cos he’s a few levels above me. His office is situated pretty close to mine, he’s usually gone by 7. The only time I ever heard of him staying late was when the company had to file its annual return. How comes he works less than everybody else…?

[Voyager]

@overlyverbose

It’s my understanding from a few articles I’ve read in the Harvard Business Journal that working too much makes people less productive because your energy and ability to focus on what you’re doing is sapped by overwork. It certainly dampens your creativity. The article that stands out most in my mind is the one about managing your energy and knowing when you’re most productive, for how long, and taking advantage of it. Of course, most of us don’t really have the autonomy to tell our bosses, “Hey, my energy is on the wane. I know it’s 2 p.m., but can I go home?” However, the article did recommend doing harder tasks when you know you’re at your freshest and doing the more mundane stuff like filing and paperwork when you’re experiencing a trough. I wish I could find the cite right now, but I keep getting offers to increase my productivity when I attempt to google it.

I’ve posted references to an article called the $200 hour (I’ll post the full name tomorrow) that demonstrated that if you are in any sort of creative job, after about 50 hours a week you are making so many mistakes you are doing only 40 hours of productive work. When I was doing the 8 am to 9 pm bit, we all showed the flag at the catered dinner, and most people didn’t get a lot accomplished. A guy working for me spent the time planning his honeymoon and sabbatical - and who could blame him. I got out, and the whole project crashed and burned, so all those extra hours were worthless anyhow.

One stupid thing they did was to set quarterly goals. You see, you worked 2 weeks of overtime in the quarter, and your prize was a day off - or not off, you got to go someplace supposedly fun with other team members. Good deal, right?