The Myth of the Long Workday

Many companies promote cultures that state, “The longer your work day, the more productive you are.” Some don’t even care about the length of time you work but how late you stay. For instance, you could get in at 6AM and leave at 5PM (a 10 hour workday), but if everyone else gets in at 9:30AM and works until 6:30PM (an 8 hour workday), you’ll be viewed as a slacker. I’m here to dispel this myth.

I’ve worked for companies that have true flex time and staying late is not a badge of honor. Most companies I’ve consulted for, however, think that if you work late, you are a great employee and team player for burning the midnight oil. In my experience, however, those who work until 7PM or later often don’t work any more efficiently than those who work until 5PM. Even though it appears that those late night employees are working longer, they are simply working an 8 hour day because they get in late as well. Here's the best part - the majority of those late workers often spend most of their day at the coffee maker, chit-chatting with their co-workers, surfing the Internet, or a host of other unproductive work activities. However, because they stay late they appear to be more dedicated. What a crock.

I’ve been in some companies where the boss walks around the office after 6PM and mentally takes note of who is still working and who went home.

We live in a sick and twisted work world where many companies reinforce the urban myth that employees who work late are better employees. Hogwash! Companies need to stop this charade. Who cares if a person works until midnight. The question should be, does the person get the work done? Is it done right and of good quality? If the answer is yes then my God, please let your employees go home and enjoy their families!