Companies Can Win by Reducing Overwork

HBR IdeaCast

Harvard Business Review

Leadership, Entrepreneurship, Communication, Marketing, Business, Business/management, Management, Business/marketing, Business/entrepreneurship, Innovation, Hbr, Strategy, Economics, Finance, Teams, Harvard

4.4 • 1.9K Ratings

🗓️ 20 February 2024

⏱️ 27 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Organizations regularly reward devoted workers who put in long hours. At the same time, “always-on” communication spurred by the pandemic and new digital tools encourage workaholism. But research shows that it’s not just individuals who are harmed by overworking. Their employers are, too. Malissa Clark, associate professor and head of the Healthy Work Lab at the University of Georgia, explains how companies unwittingly create a workaholic culture — one that ultimately backfires with higher turnover and disengaged employees. She shares what companies can easily do to change that. Clark wrote the new book Never Not Working: Why the Always-On Culture Is Bad for Business--and How to Fix It.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Welcome to the HBO Ideacast from Harvard Business Review. I'm Kurt Nickish.
0:15.0	It goes by a lot of names, workaholism, presenteism, hustle and grind, whatever you want to call it,
0:29.2	there is this belief that to beat the competition and to get ahead in your career you have to work harder,
0:35.9	work longer, and be more devoted to your job.
0:39.6	But many people also do see the personal dangers to overwork like burnout, damaging your mental health
0:45.8	or shortchanging your family, maybe crashing off the productivity cliff.
0:51.1	We know that being always on is not great, even as we push ahead into it.
0:57.6	It turns out that burning the candle at both ends can burn both the employee and the employer. It's counterproductive for your
1:05.0	well-being and for company competitiveness too. And today's guest who studies
1:10.2	that says it doesn't have to be that way.
1:12.8	She says just as managers and leaders play a big role
1:16.2	in creating a workaholic culture,
1:18.8	they can also do a lot to start down the road to recovery.
1:22.6	Melissa Clark is an associate professor of psychology
1:25.8	at the University of Georgia,
1:27.8	and she wrote the new book,
1:29.2	Never Not Working, Why the Always on Culture
1:32.0	is bad for business and how to fix it.
1:35.0	Welcome.
1:36.0	Thank you for having me.
1:37.0	What got you into studying this topic?
1:44.0	Oh gosh, well I can relate. I've always struggled from a young age of overdoing it.
	...

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