The culture of working long hours

In many workplaces, staying late has quietly become the norm rather than the exception. This essay examines why working hours keep stretching and suggests some practical measures that employers and governments can take in response.

One major cause is the culture of visibility. In many companies, promotion still depends on being seen at a desk, so ambitious employees stay late to signal commitment even when they have little left to do. Modern technology has deepened the problem: smartphones and messaging apps mean the working day no longer ends at the office door, and replying to emails at midnight is treated as dedication. Job insecurity plays a part as well, since people who fear redundancy rarely feel able to leave on time.

The solutions need to target these causes directly. Employers should judge staff on output rather than hours, which removes the incentive to perform tiredness as loyalty. Managers can reinforce this by leaving on time themselves, because staff copy what leaders do, not what they announce. Governments also have a role: France's right to disconnect, which limits after-hours emails, shows that legislation can redraw the boundary between work and rest. Finally, enforcing existing overtime rules would protect the insecure workers who currently absorb unpaid hours in silence.

In conclusion, long-hours culture grows out of visibility-based promotion, constant connectivity and fear of job loss. Judging results instead of presence, setting an example at the top and legislating for a genuine right to switch off would let people work well without surrendering their evenings.