It makes accidents more likely, boosts stress levels, and even causes physical pain. But the real problem is that many people just can’t afford not to do it.
According to latest International Labour Organization statistics, more than 400 million employed people worldwide work 49 or more hours per week, a sizeable proportion of the near 1.8 billion total employed people worldwide.
In a recent interview with The New York Times, even entrepreneur Elon Musk felt moved to describe his 42nd birthday spent locked in his factory, pulling an all-nighter. “No friends, nothing,” he said. It might have been just another day in another 120-hour work week. “This has really come at the expense of seeing my kids. And seeing friends,” he added.
For some of his fans, this is just the price of being Silicon Valley’s current demi-god, the pioneer simultaneously pursuing the colonisation of Mars and creating an affordable and mass-produced electric car.
But wearing exhaustion like a badge of honour sets a dangerous precedent. Hustling over long hours and weekends has become a staple of start-up culture in Silicon Valley – hence, it has also filtered out to many parts of the world. While writing this piece, a post popped up in my Facebook from a Colombian group for start-ups: ‘Raise your hand if you are working right now on your company, idea, or business!,’ next to a fist emoji. It had 160 likes, even a few hearts. It was commented on by 38 proud entrepreneurs,
Article source: http://www.bbc.com/capital/story/20180823-how-bad-for-you-is-working-non-stop
