Work harder AND smarter, but not longer

Thought: 'Constant hustle' culture is dying and is being replaced by smart work and self-care.

Tip: For a long time now people have worn their lengthy work hours as a badge of honour, something to show how motivated and committed they are.

Working 12 hour days, 6 days a week is somehow seen as admirable, instead of dangerously oppressive.

There is nothing wrong with ‘hustling’ and working hard to achieve your goals, but a new, smarter framework is emerging, and is particularly important now that the health risks of working long hours can be so plainly seen.

A massive study conducted by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the International Labour Organisation (ILO) found that people who worked at least 55 hours per week are at a 35% increased risk of stroke and 17% increased risk of dying of heart disease.

This quantitatively shows what we all intuitively know, that working longer is harming our health.

The increased stress, loss of family and personal time, lack of exercise and increase in poor dietary choices all combine to make us sicker and age us faster.

And is it all worth it?

Studies are now showing that no, it’s actually not.

The average person is focused at work for less than 3 hours per day (the rest of the time is spent on menial tasks like checking emails, making coffee, chatting to co-workers and checking social media), and productivity drops off significantly after 6 hours.?

This shows that when we spend 10 or more hours at work in a day, the vast majority of those hours are ineffectual.

Many would argue that they’re not, and that they need those hours to get their tasks completed, but maybe all we need is to reimagine what the workday looks like.

This is a much bigger topic, and one we will be covering at length in the future, but for now it’s worth wrapping our heads around the fact that not only is hustle culture dying, but it’s killing us as well.

Question: How many hours are you truly effective each day?

Answer anonymously in 2 clicks here.

News: Since 2000, there has been a 29% increase in deaths related to overworking, including a 42% increase in heart disease deaths and 19% increase in stroke deaths - working long hours is killing us.

Want to work with us? Here's how:

1. Book in for a free,?30 minute discovery call?to ask the experts anything you like about workplace health and wellbeing.
2. Check out all of our?programs and services?and get in touch with us.
3. Sign up for our online, accredited?Workplace Wellness Blueprint?course and learn everything you need to know to run your own health and wellbeing program.