Elon Musk, the richest man in the world and CEO of Twitter, made headlines earlier this month, after the American network “CNBC” (CNBC) reported, citing internal sources, that the new Twitter managers asked employees to work 12 hours a day. Days of the week, to achieve the company's goals set by Musk, for this year.
Musk's decision revived the controversy that he raised in 2018, by speaking about his belief that "no one will change the world by working 40 hours a week," and that he was working more than 120 hours a week, and he was forced to sleep in his factory, before reducing his working hours to between 80 And 90 hours a week, maybe 100 hours sometimes.
However, Musk later revealed to the American "Axios" website that working 120 hours a week "made him feel exhausted, as if his nerves were burning," and he admitted that "fatigue increased significantly once he exceeded the 80-hour limit," and advised that the person not spend hours Long at work, he warned, "You might go crazy if you work 120 hours a week," which added to the surprise of his recent request from Twitter employees.
Relentless work increases the secretion of adrenaline, which gives an imaginary feeling of activity and lack of need for rest (Shutterstock)
Musk is not alone
But Musk isn't the only CEO who believes long hours are necessary. A Harvard University study of 27 CEOs found they "work an average of 62.5 hours a week."
A Gallup poll found that "half of all workers in the United States work more than 40 hours a week, while 18% work more than 60 hours a week."
Last year, analysts at an organization surveyed themselves and found that they work 95 hours a week. "There were times when I didn't eat, shower or do anything other than work from morning till after midnight," one participant said.
So, experts say, those motivated by the desire to emulate celebrities, and influenced by the billionaire Musk's speech, "should beware that working long hours has a strong impact on a person's health and productivity."
breaking point
American psychologist, Dr. Janet Kennedy, says, "There is a specific point at which poor concentration begins, difficulty finding words, sleep unintentionally, and productivity returns diminishing, all of which are signs of severe exhaustion, and approaching the breaking point."
This drew the attention of some Silicon Valley leaders to the long working hours that have become associated with entrepreneurship in recent years. One of them said at a European technology conference earlier this month, "The constant stress, without time for family or For rest, it has detrimental effects on work, and well-being as well.”
Working long hours has a strong impact on a person's health and productivity (Shutterstock)
There are 5 long-term damages that may be caused to the body and mind by working more than 40 hours per week, such as:
Increased risk of death, working for a long time can be fatal, according to a global study, which showed that “working more than 55 hours a week caused the death of 745,000 people from cardiovascular disease in 2016, and was also associated with a 35% increased risk of stroke.” compared to working 35 to 40 hours a week.
Frank Bega, technical officer of the World Health Organization, said that long working hours may cause (directly) "increased pressure that harms brain and heart cells", and (indirectly), habituated behaviors, such as "lack of physical exercise, or following Unhealthy diet or poor sleep.
Negatively affecting sleep. The first effect is working for periods of between 80 and 90 hours per week, or 11 to 18 hours per day, assuming you take advantage of the weekend.
Sleep deprivation, and therefore inadequate rest, impairs the ability to focus and think creatively.
"Sleep deprivation causes cognitive impairment, makes us more susceptible to illness, depression and anxiety, can harm productivity, and lead to serious and costly mistakes and accidents," says Janet Kennedy.
She explains that "good sleep is not achieved in 7 hours, but it needs to allow time for the brain to move quietly, to help the body rest."
She added, "Working relentlessly increases the secretion of adrenaline, which gives an imaginary feeling of activity and no need for rest."
Working between 50 and 60 hours a week reduces awareness and exposes a person to work injuries and mental health problems (Shutterstock)
Also, after reviewing 200 studies conducted between 1998 and 2018, researchers concluded that “short sleep duration is the main problem with long working hours,” and that those who worked between 50 and 60 hours per week “experienced greater stress, worse cognition, and more sleep.” Work injuries and mental health problems.
High risk of injury at work. Working long hours raises the risk of physical harm, according to the same review, and one study that looked at more than 110,000 job records, from 1987 to 2000, showed the association of working at least 12 hours a day with an average risk of injury. increased by 37%, while working at least 60 hours per week was associated with a 23% increase in risk.
Deterioration of mental health. A study published in 2020 indicated that the levels of stress, depression and suicidal ideation among Korean workers in their twenties and thirties, who worked from 31 to more than 60 hours per week, increased with the increase in the duration of their work.
Negatively affecting productivity and efficiency, as working longer hours does not lead to better work, according to a survey conducted by Morten Hansen, a professor of management at the University of California, over a period of 5 years, and included 5,000 employees and managers in several industries, and showed that work is between 30 and 50 hours. It is possible, but asking the employee to work for a longer period does not necessarily lead to better results, insofar as it poses a threat to his health. them,” Kennedy said.