Not too long ago, leaving the office late meant something completely different from what it does today. It wasn’t a warning sign of burnout. Nope, it was a way of showing you were ambitious & reliable. Employers knew they could bet on you.
Of course, the story didn’t stay that way, for a number of reasons. How did we go from “staying late means respect” to “staying late is a red flag”? Let’s find out.
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Key takeaways
You’ll learn a few things, including:
- The ways firms used to reward long hours
- When & where long weeks grew among U.S. workers
- The evidence that made long hours a health risk
Why long hours once meant respect
In the past, just being seen at your desk after everyone else left was enough to get you some brownie points. No one had to check your output. Instead, simply being there gave the impression you were dedicated, which is something that researchers called “face time.”
Most offices believed in the “ideal worker” idea. Essentially, this meant that the perfect employee was always available & always ready to go. Anyone who wanted to get ahead would have to do exactly that & it was almost a rite of passage among executives. They’d put in crazy hours to show that they had the energy & focus, and then they’d receive more opportunities.
But at what cost?
This also ties to cultural values. In those days, work itself used to be seen as something that you owed to society & to yourself. Such moral weight stuck around in professional life, so working hard also gave you a kind of moral approval.
When office time actually went up
However, data starting from the 1970s shows something rather interesting. While hours had dropped earlier in the century, by the ‘70s, men in higher-paying jobs started working longer again. 50+ hour workweeks became more common, especially among salaried employees.
Those hours were directly connected to how people understood their own success. In some industries, executives simply assumed that anyone who was serious would stay late.
This became increasingly important in jobs where it’s hard to measure exactly what someone produces. The longer you stayed, the more “serious” you looked. Economists modeled this in something called tournament theory, which states that the people who appeared to put in the most effort were often promoted more. It was a self-fulfilling prophecy of sorts.
Law firms are a prime example of this. In this industry, billable hours became the currency & associates stacked up insane weeks. They were trying to show that they could handle the grind. As such, this created a sort of rat race where everyone pushed further. And no one wanted to be the first to stop.
Technology stretched “late” across the day
But then came laptops & smartphones. Suddenly, working “late” didn’t just involve being at the office, and instead, work bled into time sitting on the couch or the kitchen table. Even your vacations had to involve some kind of work.
Studies found that this constant connection makes people more stressed & affects their sense of family life. Being reachable all the time stretches the definition of work hours until it feels endless.
When the health data changed the conversation
It didn’t take long for doctors & researchers to step in. Numerous meta-analyses have found that longer weeks are connected to higher risks of stroke. In fact, one global study showed that working 55+ hours a week could significantly raise the risk of dying from cardiovascular issues. Yikes.
At the same time, psychologists began defining burnout more clearly. What did it involve? Exhaustion, cynicism & reduced effectiveness. Once burnout had a name, it became easier to realize the connection between overwork and health problems. They’re two sides of the same coin.
What’s more, Japan gave the world a clear warning after the term karōshi started spreading. It literally means “death from overwork.” Government data showed hundreds of karōshi cases each year, mostly from strokes or heart attacks tied to long schedules.
By the 2000s, companies had created compensation systems to handle claims from families of karōshi victims.
What changed inside firms once schedules became measurable
As more evidence piled up, some companies began trying different approaches. Giving employees more control over their schedules helps to reduce the conflict between work & home. Over time, this meant that burnout dropped. Flexibility became a tool, although not necessarily just for convenience. It was also a way to manage your health.
Economists also found that putting in extra hours doesn’t always pay off, either. In fact, productivity curves flatten & sometimes fall once workers go beyond a certain threshold. Beyond 50 hours a week, output tends to rise at a much slower pace.
More time doesn’t mean better results. Today, this is why long hours don’t always get the same sense of respect. If anything, working for such long hours makes people worried about health & whether you’re actually measuring the work itself in the right way. Chances are, you’re probably not.
Sources: Please see here for a complete listing of all sources that were consulted in the preparation of this article.
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