Earlier this month new employment standards came into effect in Ontario that permit 60-hour work weeks.
Labour advocates condemned the change but businesses groups point out the 60-hour week is purely voluntary.
While the 60-hour week isn’t mandatory, it’s entirely possible more people will end up working that long because it becomes an implicit part of job expectations, said Graham Lowe of the Canadian Policy Research Networks.
The research on the topic in most cases reveals a constant trend upward in the number of Canadians spending more time at work. However, preliminary results from a study by the International Labour Organization contests this, finding that since 1990, Canadian work hours have declined slightly. In contrast, workers in the United States effectively work almost one extra week per year by putting in more hours on the job. The full results of the study will be released in early November.
Fifty-hour weeks were also once exceptional, but now many managers and professionals assume they’ll put in 50 hours each week, said Lowe. “It is isn’t written down anywhere, but just to meet the expectations of the job, that is what they have to do.”
What’s more, any moves to condone longer work weeks, either by employers or governments, reinforce an unhealthy trend, he said.
Lowe said that at some point long hours become counterproductive both in terms of poor performance by fatigued workers on the job and in overall social health since long hours often bring with them an increased likelihood of depression, smoking, alcohol abuse and other harmful behaviours.
Barbara Moses, HR consultant and expert in career management, said that just because people will work more hours, it doesn’t mean the company should encourage it. While it may seem like somebody who is willing to work 60 hours is simply a hard worker, Moses said employees who work extra long weeks may be hurting both themselves and the company.
People become so addicted to acting and achieving things at work that they lose a sense of what is important to them.
“Do you really want to have people who respond like dogs to a bone or do you want people who have a capacity to be able to evaluate what is important to their lives?” asked Moses.
For more information on the perils of longer work weeks, see: www.bbmcareerdev.com or www.jobquality.ca
Labour advocates condemned the change but businesses groups point out the 60-hour week is purely voluntary.
While the 60-hour week isn’t mandatory, it’s entirely possible more people will end up working that long because it becomes an implicit part of job expectations, said Graham Lowe of the Canadian Policy Research Networks.
The research on the topic in most cases reveals a constant trend upward in the number of Canadians spending more time at work. However, preliminary results from a study by the International Labour Organization contests this, finding that since 1990, Canadian work hours have declined slightly. In contrast, workers in the United States effectively work almost one extra week per year by putting in more hours on the job. The full results of the study will be released in early November.
Fifty-hour weeks were also once exceptional, but now many managers and professionals assume they’ll put in 50 hours each week, said Lowe. “It is isn’t written down anywhere, but just to meet the expectations of the job, that is what they have to do.”
What’s more, any moves to condone longer work weeks, either by employers or governments, reinforce an unhealthy trend, he said.
Lowe said that at some point long hours become counterproductive both in terms of poor performance by fatigued workers on the job and in overall social health since long hours often bring with them an increased likelihood of depression, smoking, alcohol abuse and other harmful behaviours.
Barbara Moses, HR consultant and expert in career management, said that just because people will work more hours, it doesn’t mean the company should encourage it. While it may seem like somebody who is willing to work 60 hours is simply a hard worker, Moses said employees who work extra long weeks may be hurting both themselves and the company.
People become so addicted to acting and achieving things at work that they lose a sense of what is important to them.
“Do you really want to have people who respond like dogs to a bone or do you want people who have a capacity to be able to evaluate what is important to their lives?” asked Moses.
For more information on the perils of longer work weeks, see: www.bbmcareerdev.com or www.jobquality.ca
