Work has overtaken the lives of most Nigerians. They work almost the clock; working at home after hours just to meet up with a deadline or simply to stay ahead of the game. The thing is, all these hours put into work could actually be having a counter effect on productivity. Truthfully, working longer hours does not necessarily result in better output as people spend more time fretting over the work that has to be done than actually doing any work. It brings to mind the expression ‘busy doing nothing’. You have people run around all day like their pants are on fire but at the end of the day they wouldn’t have accomplished much.
You can’t cheat your body. The more time and care you deprive your body, the more disastrous the consequences. When your body is overworked it begins to reflect on not the quantity but also the quality of output you produce in a working week.
How could working long hours impact productivity?
- Most workers who work for long hours often rush through their work paying little to no attention to detail. These type of workers have fallen into a routine and are simply going through the motions with little to no though to the quality of work they produce.
- People who work long hours surprisingly spend more time complaining about the work they have to do than they spend actually doing the job. This means that despite the long hours, productivity will still be at an all time low.
- Long hours tend to cause workers to easily lose focus. They find it hard to engage in focused thinking. Therefore, it is safe to say that people who work long hour rarely ever engage their creative minds.
- Overworking your staffs could make you lose them to stress induced illness as they are most likely going to burnout or breakdown. This is a s a result of the un-restive state of the body. When the body is overworked, it shut down.
- Long hours make workers easily irritable and this might lead to unnecessary conflict and hostility in the working environment. This all could reduce productivity and employees become demoralized.
From all indications, working long hours could very easily be a time waster in terms of productivity. Give your body and your brain time to cool off and reboot. If you don’t get enough rest, forget winning the race; you won’t go far at all.
