Nowadays, Many People Have To Work Longer Time And They Feel Stressful Than Before

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Sample essay

Long working hours are the norm these days. In this age of intense competition and layoffs, people are forced to spend an inordinate amount of time at the workplace. This affects their work-life balance and puts them under tremendous pressure.

Competition has become more intense. To be able to keep their job, employees now have to prove that they are more loyal than their colleagues. This loyalty is usually proven by working long hours. Many employees now work 10 or 12 hours a day. Many employers believe that it is quite normal for employees to spend half of their day in the office. The situation is worse in countries where there are no laws regulating working hours. In India, for example, employers are not penalized for forcing their employees to work overtime. While some companies certainly offer overtime salaries, others do not even do it. They simply expect their staff to work a 12 hour shift.

Unfortunately, working long hours affects the health and overall wellbeing of employees. They feel stressed out all the time. They have no time for their family. Consequently, problems may arise at home. In the long term, prolonged work hours will start affecting the productivity of employees. While companies have the option to sack an underperforming employee and hire another person, this situation is highly disadvantageous for the poor employee.

There are lots of things that employers can do to improve the situation, First, they need to realize that longer working hours does not mean more productivity. The human brain is not designed to work at the optimum level for several hours on end. After a few hours, concentration levels will fall and productivity will get affected. To prevent this situation, employers need to enforce fixed working hours. Of course, there may be situations where employees have to put in more hours. In such situations, it is important to compensate them by offering overtime pay. They should also consider offering other non-monetary incentives. If employees feel that they are adequately rewarded for their hard work, they are less likely to feel resentment towards the employers. Providing employees sufficient training and proper guidelines are other ways to improve their productivity and thus reduce the amount of time they have to spend in the workplace.

In short, by adequately compensating employees for the hours they work, employers can reduce their stress levels to a great extent. It is equally important for the employer to provide a safe working environment with adequate access to training and various tools that enhance productivity.