Your colleague gets a promotion. The team is celebrated for finishing an important project. An award is presented. What inevitably happens? The long hours are highlighted. The team or individual is rewarded for coming in early and staying late. Pulling an all-nighter to finish the project really paid off. Way to go team!
Unfortunately, this celebration of overtime, of rewarding working extra hours, sends the wrong message. Not only that, it is counter-productive and hurts morale.
Wrong Message
Many employers try to create an environment that allows employees to balance their duties at work with a life outside of the office. When you highlight the number of extra hours a person works, you undermine that culture. Even if you applaud all of the other accomplishments, others will assume that they too must work overtime to get ahead in the company.
I can see why working extra hours is rewarded. You want to highlight the sacrifice and dedication to the company and the project. Here’s a person that goes above and beyond to get the job done!
Here’s the problem: simply spending lots of time on something isn’t a good indication of great work. Parkinson’s Law tells us that “work expands so as to fill the time available.” So, spending extra time on a project may, in fact, be a sign of poor project planning!
Shouldn’t we celebrate finishing a project in less time than expected? If you were hiring a contractor by the hour to do the work, wouldn’t you want them to do great work in as little time as possible? Why do we treat our employees differently?
Lower Productivity
Not only that, but the more hours people work, the less productive they become. Some studies suggest that output falls sharply after 50 to 55 hours of work each week. After 70 hours, you might as well send them home. They’re not doing anything useful after that.
If those extra hours start eating into sleep, the effect is even more profound. People who average only four or five hours of sleep a night have the same cognitive impairment and someone who’s legally drunk! Do you really want someone writing code when they’re that impaired?
Lower Morale
When people start thinking they have to work longer hours, morale suffers. Even if you’re showing appreciation, recognizing their efforts and compensating generously, people can only work so long without taking a break.
We all have the same number of hours in a week. The more we spend at work, the less we have to spend with family and friends, pursuing hobbies, and sleeping. You know, that thing called life?
Combined with the effects on health, eventually people burn out, grow bitter and may even leave for greener pastures.
Show Appreciation
Recognizing people for the contributions and accomplishments is fantastic. Employees decide to stay or leave based more on the culture and environment of a company than on monetary compensation.
At the end of the day people won’t remember what you said or did, they will remember how you made them feel. — Maya Angelou
Definitely praise hard work and dedication to a project or the company. Just be careful what you recognize in people. Praise the behavior you want more of. If you reward overtime, employees will start working longer hours. If you want your employees to work hard during normal hours, recognize that. Talk about that.
Overtime may be necessary from time to time, but make sure it isn’t something to be celebrated. It was an obstacle to overcome, not a sign of expected behavior. Thank the employee or the team, but makeit clear that it isn’t expected behavior. Keep this in mind, and I think you’ll find you have higher productivity and morale. Your employees will thank you.