Steven had been working till late these days. His work kept on piling up especially towards the end of the month. It is not because of his inefficiency or procrastination but it is due to the increasing amount of work load given to him by his company. His company had a lot of expectation from him as he had been a very hardworking employee since his came to the company.
Steven reached home late one night. He was lying on the couch, staring at the digital clock which exhibited the number 12.30, he reflected on his busy day at work. Suddenly a question popped out from his exhausted mind.
Do long hours guarantee more productivity and more profit?
Maybe. Maybe not.
He remembered reading something regarding this in some article. Despite being tired, he searched for the article. He found it. It is a Wall Street Journal article. An industrial psychologist John Kamp said,
"Everybody's got a different limit. But there's a point for every person at which extra hours cause a drop in work quality and an increase in stress."
"Hmm..there seems to be a fine line between the extra productivity created by the extra hours and a decline in the quality and creativity of the finished product of those extra hours," Steven murmured as he headed to his laptop trying to search for more articles.
To his surprise, he found out that a key cause of the productivity decline in America is marital difficulty. It seems likely that many people who work long hours in an effort to be more productive were actually risking their productivity as well as their marriages. People who work for long hours might also lose their ability to appreciate and achieve the goals of their employer.
"We want to make sure people see how their efforts fit into the big picture," says Kirby Dyess, vice president of human resources for Intel.
Intel is also wary of overwork intruding on workers' personal lives. In surveys over the past few years, Ms. Dyess says, Intel employees who report success in balancing their professional and personal obligations were more likely to say they could tolerate competitive pressures (like ambiguity and change) than those who said work dominated their lives.
Besides that, Steven also read that in a recent internal study, there showed no correlation between hours worked and advancement at Intel. Education, experience and results matter more. However, Ms. Dyess says there are times when it makes sense to work extra hours.
Maury Hanigan, a New York consultant who advises companies on personnel strategies, says in a new job "you need to put in the time to get up to speed and make your mark," perhaps for a year.
"OK! I shall give myself one year!" Steven said to himself as he walked towards the bathroom to enjoy a hot bath before going to sleep.
From where I stand, balance is the key. Our personal, family and business lives are all important. The best way to get to the top and stay there is to maintain that balance. Come back for more motivations to improve your life.
