Navigating the Growing Culture of Overtime - The Candid Coaching Series

Do you find yourself being expected to be accessible all the time? Are you on multiple chat channels that expect you to respond diligently? Are you working over 40hrs+ per week? This short article re-assesses the recent work expectations around telework, working from home and shares a few tips that I found useful to navigate this new way of working.

The culture of overtime and its consequences

Whilst most organizations preach about employee wellness and the importance of our rights, it is also true that most of the said companies outsource work to contractors, especially in the IT world, and offer bonus incentives to their staff for going the extra mile to meet targets. Such cases result in workers doing more hours than what they are paid for or they feel the need to go the extra mile to secure their contract/work - especially during pandemic times.

As observed by many, COVID19 forced an accelerated digitalization of the workplace and delivery, which brought forward this reality: Anyone who is connected to the internet via mobile devices is by default expected to be accessible and reachable at any point in time. Some statistics are now showing how with the use of communication apps on your phone, it makes an 8 hr day stretch to nearly a 12hr day on average.

Here are some understated consequences of working overtime:

1. "People working 55 or more hours each week face an estimated 35% higher risk of a stroke and a 17% higher risk of dying from heart disease, compared to people following the widely accepted standard of working 35 to 40 hours in a week" - This is quoted from WHO. Overwork causes us to indulge in poor health habits and a more sedentary life, resulting in higher risks of other diseases as well such as high cholesterol, sugar levels, blood pressure, etc.
2. Working overtime definitely impacts your family and personal life negatively. The effect may not be seen immediately but you find yourself experiencing higher levels of isolation as your support system becomes less in touch or more distant with you.
3. Mental Health is showed to be impacted the moment we cross over 40hrs of work in a week. There is a visible decline in our productivity as well as we work overtime due to fatigue/sleep deprivation, stress, anxiety and depression. The idea that working more hours result in more delivery is often at the cost of the quality of work delivered and the cost of your mental health.

What is in our control to navigate this new way of working in a healthy way?

1.Practice Self-Care

The International Self-Care foundation showcases self-care in the below seven pillars. For me, it is the little things you do on a consistent daily basis, like stretching daily.

2.Work Smarter

Give yourself a work limit to force yourself to limit prolonged hours of working. What it does is to force you to focus on what is on your critical path for delivery and get that out of the way in your limited hours of work. Be more flexible with your hours as well and ask your team to assist you to get through difficult deadlines.

3. Prioritize your relationships

At a personal level, relationships equate to food for your soul and heart. If you love what you do, it is still key to appreciate that it is all about current circumstances and what's fit for purpose. Pay attention to your loved ones and prioritize them at the right time before it is too late to make memories with them. Taking breaks from your career may seem counter-productive but striking that balance is vital.

4. Work-Life Balance

This is one of the most overused construct nowadays and what I found interesting around work-life balance is that it doesn't mean taking regular holidays, etc. It is really around purposely distributing your time across competing tasks. The book 'Win at Work and Succeed at Life' sheds a lot of light on this. It is truly about being self-aware of what matters to you and allocating time accordingly with full acceptance. Your life should not revolve around WORK. Being able to say No is definitely part of valuing your Work-Life Balance.

5. Sleep/Rest

Through my own self-care journey, I discovered sophrology and yoga practices which re-enforced that resting when your body needs it and breathing properly is very vital. I used to force myself to work till I meet my own expectations for the day and then only allow myself to rest. In a nutshell, take the power nap if you need it to come back more productive and try to have enough sleeping hours in a day.

I hope you found this short article insightful and please share your own ways in the comments section. All the best and thanks for your time!

Some extra reading and references:

1. https://isfglobal.org/what-is-self-care/
2. https://info.totalwellnesshealth.com/blog/the-dangerous-link-between-overworked-employees-and-their-health
3. https://www.who.int/news/item/17-05-2021-long-working-hours-increasing-deaths-from-heart-disease-and-stroke-who-ilo
4. Win at Work and Succeed at Life - Michael Hyatt and Megan Hyatt Miller