Long average working hours are said to make countries become more successful in economy. However, adverse effects in society can stem from such working schedule. In my view, working long hours can not guarantee economic success. Instead, it can lead to social problems.
Working for longer average time is not the key to success in economy. By working consistently, employees might not be able to focus on their tasks. The working performance of employees can decline as working hours extend. Consequently, it might turn out that they worked for longer hours but received the same result as working regular hours, due to the reduction of efficiency in worn-out workers. What is worse, exhausted workers may accidentally make mistakes in important procedures, which may impair the final profit, making the loss outweigh the gain. For instance, drivers are not allowed to continuously drive for more than four hours, because exhausted driving can lead to devastating road accidents.
Furthermore, if the whole country adopts long working hours, social instability might emerge. With more people being preoccupied with their work, they have no time for entertainment and vacations, which in turn hinders the development of tertiary industries including tourism. The declining demand in these industries can lead to the rise in unemployment rate, contributing to social instability. In addition, extended working time can cause mental problems. When people are constantly under high pressure of work, the incidence of mental disease is more likely to increase. If a large number of citizens suffer from poor mental health, there might be a rise in crime rate, which can be difficult for the government to maintain social stability.
In conclusion, I believe that working long hours can lead to adverse social impacts rather than economic success.