Countries With Long Average Working Hours Are Economically More Successful Than Those Countries Which Do Not Work Long Hours | Band 7.5 IELTS Essay Sample

Countries with long average working hours are economically more successful than those countries which do not work long hours. To what extent do you agree or disagree?

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Band 7.5 IELTS essay sample

Some people put forth the argument that longer working hours contribute to higher economic growth. However, I do not agree with this view because it has overlooked the factors such as the application of technology and people’s quality of life.

It is commonly believed that prolonged working hours are associated with higher salary. However, this argument does not take into account the use of technology. Nowadays, enterprises are in favour of applying high-tech machines which not only reduces the cost of hiring manual workers, but also largely increases the number of products that the companies can produce within a period of time. It gives rise to a growth in the overall productivity. For instance, with the introduction of machinery system in Wulanssi Company in Germany, both the employers and employees have gained mutual benefits. While the workers enjoy fewer working hours per day, the company can generate higher amount of quality products on a daily basis. 

Prolonged working is not always associated with economic benefits because it leads to work stress which affects productivity. Extensive research has / studies have demonstrated that extended hours spent in office are closely related to work stress and have a negative impact on quality of life. When people suffer from stress, their concentration decreases rapidly and this slows down their productivity. In light of this, some European countries such as Sweden and Finland value work life balance. Even though the workers of these countries work the fewest hours per day among all nations around the world, they have higher gross domestic product. The family time and social life people enjoy after work provide them with sufficient time to rejuvenate and therefore they experience less work strain. The shift from quantity to quality working time enables the advanced countries to surpass the other countries in terms of economic success.

To conclude, the saying that longer working hours can lead to higher revenue is a misconception. I believe that with the deployment of technology and work-life balance, countries can be assured of more economic return and fewer working hours.

Band 7.5 sample 2

It is argued that nations with extended working shifts are more prosperous than those which do not encourage overtime. In my opinion, long working hours are not sufficient to make a country economically strong, and hence I completely disagree with the argument.

There are countries which believe that working more hours will increase their productivity and enable them to boost their economy. Nations mainly engaged in the manufacturing of goods and services expect their employees to work overtime so that they can complete their assignments on time and get more jobs for their people. Asian countries like China whose economy is majorly based on manufacturing of cheap goods and services expect their employees to work round the clock. Overall, with the availability of extra hours from the manual workforce some countries are able to push their economy towards development

While on the other side, there are countries which do not believe in extending the work hours and still they are successful. The economy of such nations is not solely dependent on the manual workforce. With the help of technology and the highly qualified staff they are able to achieve their targets within the stipulated timeframe and hence they do not encourage overtime.

In most of the western countries like the USA, with the availability of efficient and highly trained staff there is no need for the companies to push their employees beyond their normal working hours. On the whole, the countries with adequate resources and technological advancement are able to flourish with normal working hours.

Countries that prefer long working hours are not the only successful ones. Nowadays, success depends not only on extended work hours but also on the infrastructure and availability of skilled resources.

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