Keep Your Sanity While You Work Less

In our flailing economy, people are in no position to leave their positions. Let’s face it - if your boss asks you to make him coffee, you get it perking.

If you’re asked to work on the weekend, you cancel the softball game you planned with your pals. If you’re on the schedule for 60 hours, you work 60 hours, if not more.

Fear of losing job security is through the roof, forcing many people to let themselves be overworked. 

At what expense, though?

Oh, just health, happiness and family life.

Shorter work hours leads to increased productivity, which ends up with more profit for the company.

Overtime destroys this equation because employees get burnt out, tired and physically sick.

Why are there employers that demand overtime? Probably because they don’t realize that they’re actually working against themselves instead of for the company.

How can more work be less productive?

For every hour that’s worked over 40 hours, productivity goes down for both the short-term and the long-term.

The best thing a business can do for themselves is let everybody off the hamster wheel after a full work week so they can recoup and return to work refreshed.

Whether an employee works 15 hours or eight, employers aren’t getting more than a solid eight hours of productivity out of their workers.

That means that paying workers for extra hours is actually wasting money. Plus, the more often workers have to put in overtime, the less effective they are during their normal eight hours because they’re getting increasingly burned out.

Stop the madness!

Not everyone has a choice when it comes to their work hours.

Those who can set their schedules, though, should remember that pushing their energy to the brink doesn't prove that they’re passionate and productive. Quality speaks much more than quantity.

What happens when a company just needs extra manpower?

Overtime can be useful, as long as it’s in short spurts.

If a goal or quota has to be met before the end of the year or extra work has to be completed to counteract an unexpected problem, it’s worthwhile to have workers on the clock for extra hours - but just for one week.

During the second week, there’ll be a definite decrease in productivity and it will only get worse as time goes on.

Napping, breaks and focus.

Mounting studies further demonstrate that if you are going to work a long day, breaking it up with a nap, a longer lunch break or even some mindless errands can help you focus better when you do work.

Usually, that means getting more done by the end of the day, not just in spite of having taken breaks, but because of it.

Perhaps some people can will themselves through crushing work schedules, but the evidence shows that it very likely isn't helping them get more done.

Finding balance in the amount of time you actually spend working means that your work time is truly productive and sustainable.  

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