Why Leaders Need to Go Home

One of my favorite sayings is “work smarter, not harder.” For most, it is just another annoying diatribe that people say over and over to emphasize the use of tools and resource management over brute force. For me, there is a deeper meaning. When I say “work smarter, not harder” I am often indicating that our culture expects us to prioritize status, money, and hard work over ideals such as health and happiness. Growing up in a family whose motto was “if you are healthy enough to sit up and speak, you are healthy enough to work,” the idea of putting my health (mental and physical) above my job took many years to sink in.?

In the most recent Gallup poll taken in 2021, it was discovered that nearly 41% of people working in the United States spend over 40 hours at work. This number has remained fairly consistent since 1989. Despite whether these individuals are being compensated for the extra work they are doing or not, this tells us that on average people spend more than 35% of their life working. This number may not seem that drastic, but when you account for the time spent doing practical things like sleeping, cooking food, or commuting, billions of people are spending the majority of their time working.?

So, why does this matter to leaders? In Alex Soojung-Kim Pang’s book Rest: Why You Get More Done When You Work Less, the author discusses how overwork and exhaustion contribute to less productivity. In an article for The University of California, Berkeley's Greater Good Science Center, Pang references a study done to test the theory of taking breaks, even when the work is incomplete. The study showed that participants who took intentional breaks in the middle of a project were more likely to produce more accurate work at a faster pace than the participants who did not take breaks and “powered through.”

This leads me to believe that leaving work at the end of your shift, even if there is still work that can be done, actually contributes to more productivity and happiness. I used to say things like “if only I had one more hour in the day,” until I realized it did not matter how many hours I spent working, the work would either get done or it wouldn’t. More time is not the answer to higher productivity, but having a balance between work time and rest time is.

Another important part of Pang’s work discusses the importance of restful sleep. He writes, “When we fall asleep, our bodies shift into maintenance mode and devote themselves to storing energy, fixing or replacing damaged cells, and growing, while our brains clean out toxins, process the day’s experiences, and sometimes work on problems that have been occupying our waking minds.” Part of the reason why taking a break in the middle of a project, particularly if that break includes restful sleep, is because it gives our minds a chance to see the dilemma from a different state of mind and with a more fresh perspective. The term “sleep on it” indicates that exact outcome, we think and process ideas better when we are well rested and have space to separate ourselves from the situation.

Now that we know the benefits of leaving work on time and taking intentional rest breaks, how can leaders teach this to their teams? The most obvious answer is demonstration. If you are a leader who often finds themselves working past the end of your shift, putting in more than the standard hours in order to accomplish the most, you are telling your staff (even if it is unintentional) that you expect the same of them. Leaders cannot deny the influence we have over our staff. And because communication is over 90% nonverbal, you may be setting an expectation for your staff to work long hours, without even realizing it.

Even if you tell your staff one thing, they may experience a different expectation based on the behaviors you are displaying. However, there is an unofficial movement among younger generations to push for more rest and more balance between work and life. Or, as my supervisor puts it, they look for work/life integration. Many Gen Z and Millennial workers are quitting jobs with extreme expectations of hours in favor of working cultures that support them in having lives that include both their work and their personal interests.?

A New York Times article published in 2019 discusses why many of these younger workers are favoring companies that allow for intentional rest and work/life integration over more traditional working styles. If they can afford to work fewer hours, they will. This does not mean they do not get the work done or that they are lazy. On the contrary, the employees who choose to intentionally balance their time are often able to produce more work at a higher quality because they are not exhausted and drained of energy. Instead, they are regularly refreshed and happy, leading to a better ability to focus and contribute to their work culture in positive ways.?

The moral of the story is that leaders need to set the example for their teams that working harder does not result in more gains. Rather, integrating work and personal life are the keys to producing more intentional results. So, turn off your computer, go outside for that walk, or simply go home when you say you will go home. Set the example that success at work does not necessarily mean outworking everyone else around you.