Long hours never bothered me
"Many of us have worked like that," growled a senior HR friend when I bemoaned the unhealthy trend that seemed to be starting. And he is right. Even today, most CXOs and several levels of upper and even middle management put in twelve-hour days regularly and much more when the occasion demands. Senior and staff people, however, have three major advantages that elude the larger part of the workforce. Senior managers put in additional hours voluntarily. At least theoretically. The line of limousines leaving within half an hour after the CEO’s every evening throws some doubt on the volun-
tariness but those hours for displaying dedication are not usually work-filled. More important, their output is not tracked closely: certainly not on an hourto-hour or daily basis. This non-measurement lifts a huge amount of pressure and the consequential stress of additional hours from the person. Lastly, the more senior the manager, the greater the freedom to determine the day’s schedule. Even when it is other-determined, the nature of most managerial
self-directed senior executives cannot avoid. Taken together, they raise a red flag over double-digit hour days except during short emergency conditions. The first of these handicaps affect women most and is, therefore, a body blow to any effort to bring about gender diversity at the levels that matter. The LWD is one of the most devious and devastating ways to discriminate against women climbing the upper reaches of the corporate pyramid.2 Even if women don’t self-unselect
Epidemiological studies have shown the negative effects of long working hours on the risks of cardiovascular diseases including chronic fatigue, stress, depressive state, anxiety, etc activity permits self-pacing. For instance, it is very much up to a meeting participant (unless s/he is put on the spot for something) to decide how actively to participate or whether to indulge in mind-wandering to less stressful subjects. Attending to emails is another major and acceptable time-occupier that can be prioritized and speedily completed or dawdled over while distracted by other thoughts – wholesome or 'un'. Despite these attenuators, there are some LWD liabilities that even the most
from trying for hour-hungry echelons, assessors will make the decision for them, especially if they have families and children. Before male executives smile too smugly at this nontariff barrier for women let me present a hurdle that’s blind to gender. Few would dispute the need for much above-average creativity for existing or aspiring occupants of the C-suite. Well, creativity and the LWD do not make good companions. "When you examine the lives of history’s most creative figures, [and] look APRIL 2021 |
The road less travelled
or longer vacation-time is unconvincing, even if the additional hours worked are exactly compensated – which isn’t always the case. This is both because the substitutes (especially lapsable vacation days) find ways of vanishing due to exigencies of work or Parkinsonian home commitments and because the damage done by LWD cannot be undone at the end of the week, month or year. Starving for four days and gorging the next three would be a disastrous lifestyle choice. Work ''binging'', whether voluntary or forced, has scarcely less deleterious effects.
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