Overwork culture is common, especially in Asia. Very often, we associate long hours of effort and working as the benchmark of success. Given that this is a known global issue, why do employees still give in to this culture?

“Overtime” is a term related to negativity. Typically, the working hour would be from 9am to 6pm, with an hour of lunch break and 8 hours of productive working time. People usually do it because they have to, as a result of workload could not be done within the designated time frame. Nevertheless, working overtime can also be an opportunity, be it from career or getting additional compensation. Can overtime be a positive option for employees, or become an exploitative workplace?

Why might working overtime be good ?

There are cases where overtime offers benefits for employees, provided that this remains as an optional choice. Compensation should be included when overtime becomes mandatory. Here is why overtime might not be that bad?

1. Provide employees the chance to earn more allowance

Extra hours of work can often mean getting paid more, sometimes even double pay. If you are looking for quick cash, this would be the easiest way to go. There are occasions that working overtime does not provide any compensation, monetary or benefits-in-kind.

2. Offer flexibility 

Giving room for employees to manage their own schedule offers independence and autonomy. Employers could offer the flexibility for employees to work overtime to fit personal commitment on the coming working day. For example, employees could choose to work overtime on Monday evening and night, so that they could arrive later on Tuesday morning or leave earlier on Tuesday afternoon for personal appointments. 

3. Steeper learning curve

Extra hours at the office could mean that employees are spending time on projects outside of their job scope. Employees could take this opportunity to learn and sharpen their skill sets beyond their current work. Earning additional skill sets would be helpful in future, as it increases the worth of that employee. It boosts the bargaining power in the interviews with next employers.

Why we should not applaud overtime ?

1. An overstretched of workforce

If employees are working overtime, probably it is time for employers to ask themselves if they need to get more headcounts. Ideally, the work should be allocated and completed by employees within designated working hours. If employees have already done their part, why can’t employers do their part? 

2. Unrealistic expectations

Overtime suggests that you have underestimated the resources (staff) to complete the projects within the timeline. When staff begin to work overtime, to rush and complete the projects, it gave a false impression to the internal stakeholders (management) and external stakeholders (clients) that the resources are sufficient to complete the projects. 

3. Toxic work culture

Many employees start staying back to work overtime, beyond contractual working hours simply due to the needs to be present. The peer pressure of working late, leads to the problem where employees need to be there to let their superior notice their effort in working overtime.

Why am I not supporting overtime?

With about 5 years of working experience covering 3 industries from Banking, Audit, and FMCG,  I do not encourage working overtime. There are a couple of reasons from personal, peers, and colleagues experience. 

First and foremost, the obvious reason would be a significant impact on health. Working too many hours results in body fatigue, lack of attention, brain exhaustion and weaker eye focus. All these have a direct impact on our body health. It will then bring stress and burnout. Burnout happens when you have too much work to complete in the shortest time. You will start feeling unmotivated and uninterested at your work. You will just do the task for the sake of completing the job. You may have strong devotion for work at first, but a heavy workload has killed your passion slowly. There are occasions where my young colleagues experience migraines, nausea, and high blood pressure after working long hours for several days to complete projects. 

On top of that, working overtime can be extremely harmful for company culture. Even when employees completed their tasks on hand, some may choose to stay late as their peers are still working beyond contractual working hours. Slowly, it becomes a norm in the office. Working overtime is a norm and must at my previous industries: Audit and Banking. It is absolutely normal to see the office light is still on at 8 or 9pm, and people are still working. There was a time when my peer completed a task and left “on time”, the teammates were looking and teasing at her, as leaving on time is not a good sign at work. Immediately, it piled up stress on her.

How Should You Deal with Working Overtime? 

It is fine if you have to work overtime occasionally to complete a project or presentation, but it should not be a norm. Below are some ways of dealing with overtime.

Setting Boundary

You know yourself well, and you know your body the best. You should do your own tracking of how many hours you have spent on your overtime. Example, if you have spent additional 3 hours on working overtime in week 1, you are not encouraged to stay overtime in week 2. You need to let your body recover from exhaustion. 

Manage expectations

Very often overtime happens when work is expected to be delivered to management or clients on a tight deadline. As employees are the one who are doing the execution/ reporting, they should know what is the ideal and stretchable time that they can commit. If the deadline is unrealistic, employees should raise the concern on either amending the due date or requesting for a temporary headcount to speed up the work progress.  

Overtime Pay 

Working overtime should always be met with some form of compensation, be it monetary pay or additional annual leaves, either way should be satisfactory for both employees and employers. You would need to know the rights and benefits of working overtime for your company. This would be a huge issue in employment law, if employees are forced to work overtime, and at the same time, no compensation is given.

Bottom Line: 

Working overtime is a double edged sword, it can be an opportunity or exploitation. It is fine to work overtime occasionally to complete projects, but never to make it a norm at work. There is a saying, work is a never ending process,  but your life and family time will slip away. Life is not only about work, you need to socialize, exercise, and entertain. Do not let work occupies your life. 

Remember:

Work to Live,

Not Live to Work