Word with Rajive Dhavn

Ep # 4: The myth of working long hours.

October 10, 2022 Rajive Dhavan Season 1 Episode 4
Word with Rajive Dhavn
Ep # 4: The myth of working long hours.
Show Notes Transcript

We’ve seen people working long hours, beyond the stipulated hours of work, in order to impress their reporting managers or higher up. Why do most of us do this? Does it work? How effective is it?

Let’s find out. It’s time to have a word, with me, Rajive Dhavan.


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Thanks,
Rajive Dhavn

We’ve seen people working long hours, beyond the stipulated hours of work, in order to impress their reporting managers or higher up. Why do most of us do this? Does it work? How effective is it?

Let’s find out. It’s time to have a word, with me, Rajive Dhavan.

Staying back in the office when there’s some concrete work is a different equation. However, in many cases, there’s no concrete work, or the regular work is stretched to show how one puts in long hours. Then there’s a system and a herd that’s doing exactly this. So, it all seems fine, and it’s an accepted norm now.

But the burnout one faces while working these extra hours, even when not required, does much more damage than one can imagine. It eats up into your personal life, as you’re mostly at work. It also adds to the stress, anxiety and irritability from work that we carry back home. We return to the office the next day without a good night’s sleep and rejuvenation. It seems to be a small burnout in the beginning. But like everything else in life, it compounds into something massive. 

Most assume that working long hours is the best way to impress their Reporting Managers. Unfortunately, a lot of these managers get impressed. As this is what they’ve been doing too. But breaking the shackles of this vicious cycle requires more than one person to do things differently. It can all start with one person, though. And eventually, others will also see some logic in this.

If we work with complete focus and dedication, even 6 hours of work is more than enough. After a point, though we continue to work, we are not really making any significant progress or contribution. Our creative juices begin to dry up. Our attention begins to dilute. Whether you’re on the creative side of work or technical, or even into entrepreneurship, your honest 6-hour work will beat the 12-hour pretence of others. 

However, we can’t completely generalize that working long hours is a bad idea. Some people have a much longer attention span. Also, there are certain kinds of tasks that do involve long working hours. But these are all exceptions, and these may work only for a few. 

The biggest irony is that the one who sticks to their work schedule with complete dedication is mostly looked down upon as lazy or slacker. Our focus is so much on the process of working long hours that we cease to look at the results. Yes. We do need a concrete process in place. But that process should never defeat the purpose – the results we are working towards.

So, what can you do to break the loop?

Well, three things will help you a great deal.

  1. Building a habit of working with complete dedication. No phone, side-tasks or distraction, just unmatched focus for 6 hours. You can break these 6 hours into a set of three as well. But do remember to give it your all.

  2. If you still have some fuel, use it to build your skills. Take up a course, listen to an informative podcast or just read. Whatever works for you is the right thing to do. Every minute you invest in improving your skillset will help you scale greater heights. Not immediately, but eventually. It doesn’t mean you begin the practice of moonlighting, though. For the uninitiated, it’s an old trend that was in the news recently. Moonlighting is when employees, in parallel, take up additional work, or freelance work, outside of their full-time job. While we all have our views on moonlighting. My view is simple – If it’s strictly outside working hours with no impact on your full-time job, it’s debatable. It does raise some questions on ethics, though. But the better way of making more money or progressing, in general, is to build your skills in your free time. In the long run, staying away from moonlighting will always help. 

  3. The best break from work are activities that don’t require you to think. We can term them as mindless activities. These could differ from person to person. For some, it’s re-runs of their favourite shows; for others, it’s just taking a stroll. Sometimes, we need to take a break from taking life so seriously. Everything can’t be about process, results, skills, etc., all the time. A break will always help us reconnect with our core better.


So, go ahead. Think beyond working for long hours. Build your mettle. And make a difference in your own life. A difference that really counts in the long run.

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