There's nothing like a long day of work.
We brag about it. We attach our worth and identify to it. We feel that it makes us great employees.
But does it? And is it really worth it?
Overworking has some detrimental effects on mental health and doesn’t necessarily lead to better productivity
WHAT IS OVERWORKING?
The definition of overwork can be hard to pinpoint. We all
have different thresholds for how much work is too much.
Overwork occurs when someone works “too hard, too much, or
too long.” It can mean working beyond your mental or physical capacity, leading
to negative effects of overworking such as mental health issues.
Knowing what overworking means for you takes self-awareness
and some self-reflection. Some common signs of being overworked can help you
determine if you are working too much.
Here are some questions you can ask yourself to determine if
you are overworked:
- Does every day feel like a bad workday?
- Am I tired all the time? Is it hard to get my energy back?
- Do I feel that I am not doing enough if I don’t work long days?
- Does work feel dull all of a sudden?
- Do I have a lot of anxiety or stress around work that bleeds into my personal life?
- Do I feel cynical about work?
Here are some more signs of being overworked:
- Employee engagement is low
- Employees are making mistakes regularly
- Tasks aren’t getting completed
- Employees call out sick often or arrive late to meetings
- Employees level their video off during Zoom calls
- Employees are moody or having trouble getting along
According to a Gallup survey in 2014, the average American
full-time employee worked 47 hours per week.
- 21% worked 50 to 59 hours
- 11% worked 41 to 49 hours
- 42% worked 42 hours
- 8% worked less than 40 hours
And that was in 2014, The average working week is likely
longer with the huge spike in remote work. According to SHRM, 45% of people say
that they work more hours during the week than they did in the office. 70% say
they now work some on the weekends.
HOW LONG IS TOO LONG?
Studies have found that productivity drops sharply at the
49-hour mark. At that point, it’s probably not worth working any longer.
In fact, people that work 70 hours a week hardly accomplish
more than people that work 56 hours per week in the long run.
THE CONSEQUENCES OF OVERWORKING EMPLOYEES
We all know deep down that overworking is bad for us. Yet,
we seldom do anything to address it. It is normal to feel like we have to
overwork to keep our jobs, get a promotion, or succeed in life. But that is not
necessarily true.
Activity does not equal accomplishment. Sometimes the best
thing you can do is take a break and return to work later.
OVERWORKING AND ITS EFFECTS ON MENTAL HEALTH
In 2019, 94% of American workers reported experiencing
stress at work.
Overworking leads to burnout which isn’t something to be
trifled with. Burnout can lead to:
- Depression and anxiety
- Emotional exhaustion
- Tension headaches and/or migraines
- Emptiness or lack of interest in work or home life
- Worsened sleep
- Bad habits like substance abuse
It is all about balance. When work starts to take over your
life, things start to fall apart. 76% of workers say that their workplace stress
impacts their personal relationships, and 66% say that their stress caused
sleep deprivation.
Suddenly, there is little time to spend with family, take
care of yourself, or do the things you enjoy. There’s less time to spend with
friends or be a part of groups outside of work.
When work rules your life, it becomes your identity and your
purpose. But, there is so much more to life than work. And we need balance so
we can take care of our mental health and wellbeing.
Long working hours and mental health are hard to sustain
together for a long period of time. Burnout and being overworked can lead to
cynicism, exhaustion, boredom, worsened job performance, and depression. This
can lead to a downward spiral of feeling more burnt out and more depressed, leading
to worsened self-esteem and hopelessness.
Workaholism, or the uncontrollable urge to work constantly,
affects nearly half of Americans.
Yet workaholism, overworking, and burnout are very
preventable, especially with professional help from a therapist. They can help
you learn how to stop overworking and break the cycle.
OVERWORKING, CULTURE, AND THE BOTTOM LINE
Overworking doesn’t just affect employee mental health. It
hurts business.
Working long hours doesn’t necessarily improve productivity.
In fact, it can decrease productivity. Overworking leads to many things that
make deep focus, creativity, strategic thinking, and teamwork harder, like
sleep deprivation, high levels of stress, and simply too many irons in the
fire.
A culture of overworking can lead to many negative
consequences. It isn’t unusual for employees to start competing and comparing
themselves to each other based on how many hours they work. Employees will
start staying in the office or being online for long hours, even if they aren’t
actually working, to appear like they meet the expectations.
If employees are overworked for long enough, employee retention will suffer.
All of this has a huge cost for employers. Fatigued workers cost hundreds of billions of dollars in lost productive time every year.
Overworking can also cause us to lose sight of the bigger picture. It makes us focus on what we have to get done and not necessarily what we could be doing better. It causes employees, and entire companies, to focus on helping customers less.
OVERWORK CULTURE IS THRIVING: WE THINK OF LONG HOURS AND CONSTANT EXHAUSTION AS A MARKER OF SUCCESS. GIVEN WHAT WE KNOW ABOUT BURNOUT, WHY DO WE DO GIVE IN?
THANK YOU!
NAME : ADRIJA MAHAJAN
COURSE : BSC (H) BIOTECHNOLOGY
SEMESTER : 5TH
DEPARTMENT : AIB
