Many workers decide to dedicate themselves to their jobs, but this means that they have fewer hours of free time for rest. Although this can help their careers dramatically, I believe that there are more drawbacks because it will negatively impact their health.
The main reason why people work extra hours is to gain a promotion. In many jobs, an employee is in competition with their colleagues, and those that achieve the greatest productivity are most likely to be promoted. For instance, a well-known billionaire, Elon Musk, demands that his employees at TESLA and Space X work 7 days a week, and those that cannot maintain that pace are very unlikely to remain with the company.
The disadvantage of working long hours is that working very arduous hours can be detrimental to a person’s well-being. This is because, with no time to unwind, stress at work increases and affects both an individual’s physical and mental health substantially. For example, many lawyers around the world leave their profession well before retirement because of the negative health implications of being expected to work more than 80 hours per week.
In conclusion, although it might be tempting to make career advancement the number one priority by working extra hours, I believe that people should consider the sustainability of such an approach due to an increased likelihood of poor wellbeing. For these reasons, the negatives far outweigh the positives.