Epi Files

This article is very interesting. I learned this thru my officemate. How we wish we could do this...

"I know people who work 12 hours a day, six days a week, or more. Some
people do so because of a work emergency where the long hours are only
temporary. Other people I know have put in these hours for years. I don't
know if they are working all these hours, but I do know they are in the
office this long. Others put in long office hours because they are
addicted to the workplace. Whatever the reason for putting in overtime,
working long hours over the long term is harmful to the person and to the
organization. There are things managers can do to change this for
everyone's benefit. Being in the office long hours, over long periods of
time, makes way for potential errors. My colleagues who are in the office
long hours frequently make mistakes caused by fatigue. Correcting these
mistakes r equires their time as well as the time and energy of others.
I have seen people work Tuesday through Friday to correct mistakes
made after 5 PM on Monday. Another problem is that people who are in the
office for long hours are not pleasant company. They often complain about
other people (who aren't working as hard); they are irritable, or cranky, or
even angry. Other people avoid them. Such behaviour poses problems,
where work goes much better when people work together instead of avoiding
one another. As Managers, there are things we can do to help people
leave the office. First and foremost is to set the example and go home
ourselves. I work with a manager who chides people for working long
hours. His words quickly lose their meaning when he sends these chiding group
e-mails with a time-stamp of 2 AM, Sunday. Second is to encourage people to
put some balance in their lives. For instance, here is a guideline I find
helpful:

1) Wake up, eat a good breakfast, and go to work.
2) Work hard and smart for eight or nine hours.
3) Go home.
4) Read the comics, watch a funny movie, dig the dirt,
play with your Kids etc..
5) Eat well and sleep well.

This is called recreating. Doing steps 1, 3, 4, and 5 enable step 2.
Working regular hours and recreating daily are simple concepts. They are
hard for some of us because that requires personal change. They are
possible since we all have the power to choose to do them. In considering
the issue of overtime, I am reminded of my eldest son. When he was a
toddler, If people were visiting the apartment, he would not fall asleep
no matter how long the visit, and no matter what time of day it was! He
would fight off sleep until the visitors left. It was as if he was afraid
that he would miss something. Once our visitors' left, he would go to
sleep. By this time, however, he was over tired and would scream through
half the night with nightmares. He, my wife, and I, all paid the price for
his fear of missing out. Perhaps some people put in such long hours because
they don't want to miss anything when they leave the office. The trouble
with this is that events will never stop happening. That is life! Things
happen 24 hours a day. Allowing for little rest is not ultimately practical.
So, take a nap. Things will happen while you're asleep, but you will
have the energy to catch up when you wake.

Hence, "LOVE YOUR JOB BUT NEVER FALL IN LOVE WITH YOUR COMPANY. (Because you never know when it stops loving you)"

- Narayana Murthy