There is an opinion that countries in which people spend more time working often earn a greater economical advantage over others which have shorter average working hours. From my perspective, although spending long period of time at work helps countries gain better economic achievement, there are some other downside of this to workforce in a long term. In addition, other aspects are also more beneficial than the working time.
It is undeniable that countries benefit from their dedicated workforce in working and producing products which result in a higher productivity. Take Japan as an example, its labor is known for dedication as they often work ten to twelve hours a day, and does not retire until the age of 70 to 80, so Japan is one of the countries with high Gross Domestic Products. In addition, several occupations require a round-the-clock working demand with the 24/7 appearance of experts observing to ensure the smoothness of the task.
Nevertheless, working laborers are affected badly when using excessive time at workplaces. Some researches show that people often encounter mental and physical health problems, including burnout, stress and even serious diseases from the lack of resting time. In addition, in the long term, labor force tends to lose their passion and inspiration leading to lower quality of work and even resignation of skilled laborers. An obvious example is India, one of the most populous countries in the world with large amount of workforce is still struggling with developing the economy.
In conclusion, despite the fact that the more working time, the higher productivity the countries have, I believe that there are many bad effects on labor force when they spend too much time working which is considered to diminish the economy of the countries.