Why We Should Stop Glorifying 12 Hour Work Days..
As many have always said, “No one has ever died wishing they had spent more time at work”. We often reflect on our lives and question why we didn’t take that holiday we’d dreamt of or left work a bit earlier to catch a drink at the pub with a mate. In the moment, we second guess what people would think of us, if we were hard workers or slacking off, if we truly cared about our job or if it was just a means to source money. Throughout the process of the doubt, people lose sight of the bigger picture that there is life outside of work and end up committing their existence to what should be a disruption to their true purpose of life.
Starting out in any industry, you get thrown a fair amount of advice from retirees, senior managers and family members who want to see you succeed. They advise you to learn as much as you can, write down all your lessons and make sure you never slack off as this is where you build a reputation for yourself. A big piece of advice I was given, and have lived by, was to never arrive after your manager and never leave before them. It makes sense right, having a commitment to the role which proves to the manager you were willing to put in the time to get the job done.
Whilst working my way up the ladder, I would often see myself spending 12+ hours a day at work trying to prove to those around me that I am dedicated and hardworking. Sometimes I would even catch myself finding things to do just because my manager hadn’t left the office yet. For some reason, thinking that if I was still at work later than her or if my hours at the end of the fortnight were more, that it would prove I was hard working and beneficial to the business. In the process of doing this, it has taken me to only recently to realise that I was almost destroying what I was trying to build.
At the end of the day, the goal of any business is pretty simple; Reduce expenses and increase revenue. Of course, in some situations, expenses are made to ensure revenue can be increased however they are considered to positively impact a business’ financial position. Staying back four hours after your finishing time to finish an email or update a Standard of Procedure document which could eaisly be done the following day would not fall under this category.
The affects of these 12+ hour work days are long lasting not just on our work relationships and environment but also our personal lives. A simple picture can be painted to explain; You wake up at 5:30am to get ready to be at work to start by 7am. Throughout the day you’re working on projects, dealing with people, creating connections, ticking off your task list, managing complaints and your staff. You get a 30 minute break in which you enhale some food, usually at your work desk, whilst you’re on a Zoom call which frustrates you because you have no place being there. 3pm hits, eight hours after you started and you realise you still have projects that need completing. Instead of leaving it for tomorrow, you remember how your competitor for the supervisor role was congratulated for “being committed to the business” for staying back to get work done last week. 6:30pm rolls around and you’re still in the office with 2 missed calls from your partner and a text message wondering why you’ve missed dinner.
You get home around 7:30pm, exhausted and frustrated so instead of being able to relax, you express your frustrations to your partner at home. They bite back because it is the third time you’ve done it this week and they feel they aren’t a priority. An hour later after an emotional argument, you’re eating cold Spag Bol and pulling a Doona out of the cupboard because you’re on the couch tonight. No time to relax or unwind from the day, the negativity from work is taken home and affects your relationship and now you don’t even get a comfortable sleep. All because you thought that by staying back, you’d be recognised and promoted for the effort you put in. This may seem like an exaggerated story, but trust me, it happens far too often for many people.
I think the biggest factor that contributes to employees working 12+ hour days is the expectations and pressures set by above management. To prevent added stresses, increased workload and overall negative job satisfaction, management need to recognise the importance of the work life balance and encourage staff to ‘take a break’. If a member of staff is feeling pressured to stay back to complete a task or meet a unrealistic deadline, they’ll stay in the office well past their finishing time, causing them to arrive home late and this would have a domino affect on their personal life along with their view on their work life. The real question is what steps can a manager make to ensure they are providing a safe space for their staff to feel comfortable leaving work on time?
1. Have the conversation and set your expectations:
As a manager, open and transparent communication to your team is vital to ensure your message, goals and expectations come across clearly. In order for your employees to know what your desired outome of a task is, you must communicate clearly and as simply as possible. The most important parts I believe are answering the what if questions. “What if I can’t get my project done due to being stood down and only working 3 days a week?” “What if I am unable to obtain the information I need to complete the task” “What if someone calls in sick and I have to step into operations?”
Set your expectations in any what if situation. Ensure you tell your team that you expect them to manage their time well and in quiet periods that they complete tasks required instead of slacking off. Be clear that you do not expect them to stay back however to complete tasks due to circumstances out of their control. That’s the key comment. If they haven’t finished a task because of poor time management when you have previously set expectations then the onus lies on them.
2. Do not publicly celebrate someone because they have worked extra hours:
The worst thing you can do is to publicly reward or celebrate someone who has stayed back well past their set finishing time. Not only does this allow the employee to feel his actions are positively impacting the business and therefore is potential for a promotion, it sets a standard for other employees within the business to follow. There is no harm in pulling the employee aside and expressing appreciation if they have stayed back due to a sick call or because of unforseen circumstances however to do it publicly creates an expectation for other employees which you don’t actually have of them.
Much inline with the example given above, if gratitude and recognition is publicly shared, others will feel a need to prioritise work over other things to ensure they are performing at a high level, hitting targets and “staying in good with the boss”.
3. Openly advertise the importance of Work-Life Balance:
Although it is preached on work advertisements, mission statements and sold as the golden dream when applying for jobs, the idea of having a work life balance isn’t always the number one focus as it should be. Every employee is told to have a work life balance and know of it’s importance however when push comes to shove and tasks need to be completed, this ideaology is often disregarded.
It is vital for Managers to continuously remind their team and promote the important of work-life balance. Discussing this with team members in weekly catch ups, sending emails and leading by example are all ways this can be communicated to your colleagues to ensure they aren’t feeling pressured to over commit time to their task. Everyone needs to be reminded that we work to live and not live to work, that the money we earn should go towards things we enjoy and to create memories instead of being stowed away because they’re stuck in an office.
The lack of energy, insomnia and a weak immune system are among the most common symptoms of overworking. Not only is overworking bad for your overall health, but it also has a negative impact on your business. Your productivity levels will only go down with each extra hour you spend at work. So don’t be afraid to speak up and have the conversation to ensure you are putting your best foot forward mentally and physicially.
As mentioned previously, there will be times you need to stay back but these should be anomolies and not the norm. Destroy the idea that you have to be constantly working or grinding in order to be successful. Embrace the concept that rest, recovery and reflection are essential parts of the progress towards a successful and ultimately happy life.
