40-hour weeks (was Re: FWD: Lack...)

[Mary Arrotti]

It's hard to disagree with what someone describes as their experience. That said - the situation Chris describes has never been true in my many years of experience. 
   
  Everywhere I've worked, the people who work the extra hours generally are also going the extra mile or have heavy workloads than their coworkers. There are exceptions - I've known a few people to stay late just to look better - to give the (false) impression they're working overtime. But for the most part - in my experience, it's been people who rigidly hold to a 40-hour week who are less productive and quality-conscious. 
   
  I've worked overtime in situations where coworkers worked fewer hours. I've also had greater responsibilities and heavier workloads (a few times, literally twice the workload). It's important to understand that not every organization divides up work equally. Sometimes if you are considered more reliable, capable, or willing to put in extra time - you are given a heavier workload. Not saying that managers should manage this way or that it's fair - just that it's not uncommon. 
   
  A high priority project comes in - who do you give it to? The person who's going to leave at 5:30 every day that week or the person who's going to put in whatever time is needed & who will get the job done?
   
  Working overtime is not something I seek out - I would rather spend my time on other things. But it has been necessary to do my job. 


Chris Borokowski <athloi at yahoo.com> wrote: 
  In my experience, there is a way to get it done in 40 hours a week or
fewer, and greater workloads than that most commonly lead to burnout
and less efficiency. I have yet to encounter an exception. There are
exceptions for emergencies or failures, obviously, but not on a
day-to-day basis. Note that nothing was said about quality of life.
       
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