Long working hours a great disruption - Yes that's true.

So, today's a Sunday, and many of you have already a feeling of Monday blues set in. You begin cursing your work + life in the worst possible manner. You feel so dampened thinking of tomorrow, that ultimately, you end up spoiling your Sunday brunch mood as well. And, nothing can seem to come to your rescue, as you know you need that money coming out of the job. And, even if you quit one company, you are made aware by your social circles that the conditions aren't very different elsewhere. Just the two faces of the same coin.
And, your family life has been topsy-turvy, with almost no work-life balance at all.

SO, you sit down grumpily, with a weary mood, and think about drinking hard this evening, to help you get through your day tomorrow.

Well, this is pretty much the case of every employee in almost every sector of the economy, esp. in India. A recent TOI report titled - "Tedious duty hours and too many landings push pilots to the edge"
 stated that pilots have raised a concern regarding long working hours which have triggered post the death of a Bengaluru based pilot, due to heart attack (caused by severe pressures of work and long duty hours).

That apart, several reports in the internet backed by medical researchers and psychologists, clearly indicate that long working hours, combined by erratic lunch timings along with sitting often with an incorrect posture, results in triggering not just several health issues but also, damages various other factors of life of the person to an extant beyond repair. Still people continue - as they are allowed and expected to continue that way by their employers.

But, are indeed our CFOs and industry heads who talk so much about profits, are actually making a real profit by surrounding themselves with employees from early morning till late at night. Well, just have a look at the following figures to find out:

Countries	GDP in US$/ workingHour	Projected GDP nominal in Billions of US dollars	Working hours
Canada	101000	1,798.51	1706 annual avg
China	14,000.00	14,092.51	40hr/week although not implemented everywhere
Denmark	1,27,000.00	369.76	1410 annual avg
Germany	94,300.00	4,211.64	1288 annual avg
India	5,380.00	2,848.23	11-12 hours a day, 6 days a week in reality- no overtime paid for extra work
Japan	96,100.00	5,167.05	1742 annual avg
Luxembourg	261000	72.461	1512 annual avg
Netherlands	1,08,000.00	945.327	1430 annual avg
Norway	182000	443.252	1424 annual avg
Russia	25,900.00	1,719.90	1974 annual avg
Singapore	96,300.00	349.659	44 - 48 hr/week
Spain	80600	1,506.44	1695 annual avg
Sweden	120000	600.771	1621 annual avg
UK	86,400.00	2,936.29	1676 annual avg
US	1,13,000.00	20,412.87	1789 annual avg

Keeping in mind the population size and other geographic factors, this data clearly  reveals that - a longer working hour doesn't necessarily contribute to larger share of productivity in country. Then, what is the point of retaining employees for so long. 

Apart from this, other indexes also reveal that while employees of Denmark, Spain, Netherlands, Norway and Luxembourg are the happiest lots with the best work life balance - many field studies reveal that in the Indian Context, its very common to find employees who are extremely pissed off, about their workplace. 

Why did this arise?

A closer investigation reveals that the prime reason is the faulty recruitment policies existing in India. Often, people are placed in job roles for which they are either over or under qualified, and they find it almost impossible to cope / bear with the role. Still, due to lack of job opportunities in the market place, people stick to their jobs for the sake of money and social stigma, and continue till they are worn out completely to the level beyond repair - then, suffer a heart attack or two or take to the final move - suicide.

And, it is not just the case of India. Longer working hours esp. in IT and several other sectors of the economy renders - 

1) Health Problems - a) weaker eyesight, b) back ache, c)arthritis,  d)stress,  e)stress-induced health troubles, like high BP, thyroid or hormonal imbalance, weight gain, etc   f) sleep disorder

2) Social problems - a) too much drinking or smoking habit to combat stress and lack of rest, 

                                 b)lack of connection with family, havoc in marriage,poor / no conjugal relationship with partner, lack of time for them resulting into divorce.

                                c) distanced from son / daughter, feeling alienated, etc.

                                d) Suppressed feelings leading to criminal tendencies and causing one to engage in self destructive behaviour.

3)Work problems - unable to perform properly, as the body and mind are exhausted.

And, people are increasingly talking about this - but do you think, simply talking would be enough. To all the workaholics around the globe - I salute to you. 

But to the work which may or might not be with me tomorrow in this rapidly growing and unsteady world, I would embrace you only if you would let me be independent, you would let me unleash my full potential and perform excellently, with one big condition - that - at the end of the day you would let me be 'ME'. You wouldn't assume me to be a robot. You wouldn't assume that for your sake I will divorce my family. You wouldn't and shouldn't take away all those small happiness out of my life. I wouldn't be sitting in front of the screen for 8 hours at a stretch everyday. 

Don't you think, that even this deserves a #MeToo campaign to protest against the long retainment in offices, that too - when there is no actual contribution at all. Employers and employees must equally learn to structure the work so that it is over in a feasible time, and the work actually contributes to the GDP.

It's true that we need work, but it's equally true that the work needs us as well. And, we need ourselves the most. 

So, to summarise, from now on, let's consider ourselves as the foremost priority before anything else in this world, embrace ourselves and love our work & not work till the time we hate it and develop Monday blues.

Stay tuned for the Next. Till then, Stay Healthy, Stay Safe, Stay Happy.