Technology has made our day to day routines so much easier with computers and cell phones helping us stay connected via email and text and Google giving us the ability to find the answer to any question with just a quick search.
And while it’s true that being connected keeps us in the know, it also means that we never really clock out for the day. The occasional long day doesn’t hurt if we need to finish a project or fix a crisis, but it’s when we routinely stay late at the office or work into the night that it becomes a problem.
This problem is commonly referred to as chronic overwork and it can have an extremely negative impact on your health, overall happiness and quality of life. For most people, working overtime has become expected and the norm. Especially now that working from home is standard practice, the lines have become even more blurred between the end of a workday and the beginning of personal time.
Failure to prioritise health, happiness and quality of life isn’t just bad for you, it’s bad for business too! And there is an overwhelming amount of research to support this. To understand just how bad this all is, we dive into some eye-opening truths that reveal perhaps a bit more than we bargained for.
Over working prevents sleep
Many studies show that working too much or too late can have a negative impact on our sleep. Either as a result of stress or not having enough time to unwind before going to bed. Sleep debt starts to build up when we avoid sleeping and it can make the body feel like it hasn’t slept in a month. The only way to remedy this and feel well-rested again is to get a proper full eight hours of sleep.
Sleep debt is dangerous because it increases the risk of obesity, heart disease, strokes and even diabetes. Additionally, lack of sleep in the short term can wreak havoc on the hippocampus, the part of the brain which is responsible for memory creation and consolidation.
Over working leaves you stressed and eating badly
Working too much for too long negatively affects the brain and body and can increase stress and bring on fatigue, leaving no time to exercise or eat healthily.
When you are overtired, you also might rely on caffeinated drinks to get you through the day and make unhealthy food choices. This is because lack of sleep coupled with stress prevents our brains from wanting to eat healthy foods.
Lack of sleep also causes an increase in the brain’s amygdala, which is responsible for telling the body it needs food. Over time, poor food choices can lead to weight gain and eventually obesity.
Over working is bad for your heart
According to a study done by researchers from University College London, those who worked more than 55 hours per week had a 13% greater risk of a heart attack and were 33% more likely to suffer a stroke, compared with those who worked 35-40 hours per week.
But what about overworking causes heart disease? The reasons why overwork and cardiovascular risk are linked are not entirely clear. But elevated levels of stress hormones (cortisol and epinephrine), may have something to do with it. Overwork and work stress are also associated with many cardiac risk factors.
Metabolic syndrome, a cluster of cardiovascular risk factors that include high blood pressure, high triglycerides, low levels of good cholesterol, high blood sugars, and “apple-shaped” abdominal obesity, has also been associated with stressful work.
Over working increases illness
Studies have revealed that working excessive hours on a regular basis negatively impacts the health of people. When a person is overworked, their body becomes depleted which makes their immune system vulnerable.
A low immune system means you become more susceptible to infections, sickness and even depression. If you are suddenly calling in sick more often, it may be because you are working too much and exerting yourself to the point of illness.
Why over working is bad for business
If better health and happiness isn’t enough of an incentive to do something about overwork, it turns out overworking can have a legitimately negative impact on your business’s bottom line. Harvard Business Review studies show that we have a limited capacity for concentrating over extended time periods, and though we may not be practised at recognising the symptoms of fatigue, they unavoidably derail our work.
For an organisation as a whole, this is bad news as a diminishing ability to concentrate can equate to decreased productivity and have a major effect on business finances, morale and other factors.
