Analysis: While some bosses may advocate for putting work first, long working hours come with significant health, emotional and business risks
My wife's favourite uncle, Uncle Ray, had a saying: "some eat to live, I live to eat". Marks and Spencer's chief executive Stuart Machin seems to have adopted a variant of this motto with "some men work for a living, I live to work". He is quoted as saying "I don’t like all of this talk about work-life balance" and brags about how he stays in touch with work, even when going away for a weekend to see old friends. Machin even criticised other executives for switching off while on holiday, and has (perhaps unsurprisingly) parted ways with his entire executive team since taking over.
There are circumstances in which a decision to put work first and everything else a distant second might seem understandable and perhaps even noble. Suppose you are part of a team struggling to deliver a new vaccine before a terrible disease wipes out a remote town. A decision not to stop at the pub for a quick pint with the lads would probably be applauded.
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From RTÉ Radio 1's Drivetime, is it possible is to have a work-life balance in a stressful job?
But, for heaven's sake, M&S is essentially a glorified grocery store that also sells clothing, beauty products and the like. The chain is undoubtedly posh (their Christmas pudding is delicious, awash in fruits, pecans, and Cognac, but it costs about €19), but it is not fundamentally different from the local Dunnes Stores, just with fancier produce, baked goods, boutique items and higher prices.
Is it a reasonable choice, then, to make running an enterprise like this your first, and perhaps only priority? You can certainly make the case that this is Manchin’s decision to make and not ours to criticise. This single-minded focus on work might in some cases be beneficial for M&S, its employees, and its stockholders.
On the other hand, his decision to make work his main focus is probably not good for him, his family or for the people who work most directly with him. Other executives have taken an even harder line on putting work first. Our old friend Elon Musk has declared war on weekends and advocates a 120-hour work week. As we know, this has not gone well.
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A single-minded focus on work is often bad for everyone. Long work hours are associated with increased risks of cardiovascular disease, strokes, and decreased mental health. More to the point, long working hours do not translate to higher productivity. There is considerable evidence that people become less productive if chained to their desks.
A culture that puts work first often leads to the loss of valuable workers. Particularly workers and managers who have marketable skills and who will not have a difficult time finding a healthier workplace. It is also clear that long working hours are likely to harm your spouse and family. In particular, the children of overworked parents often show emotional and developmental problems. At some point, it is probably worth asking whether all of this is justified, in order to (possibly) help your company sell more groceries, clothing and the like.
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From RTÉ Radio 1's The Business, does more pay make you work harder?
I had a brief foray into the world of work first/family second. For several years, I worked as a consulting expert in employment litigation in the US. Some cases involved high stakes (my biggest involved over $2 billion in potential damages), and the pressure and pace were both relentless.
After several family dinners where I was pulled away on a phone call from lawyers, my 12-year-old son asked why Dad couldn’t have dinner with the family, and it turned out to be a damn good question. In the end, I followed his sage advice and went back to an academic career, joining the faculty of the University of Limerick.
I think the best response to the claim that we should live to work and not worry about the balance between work and the rest of our lives is to offer pity and understanding to people who make this sort of claim. In the short term, there might be some benefits to a work-first approach, but this is not a sustainable way to live, and the best bet is that the person making this claim, his or her (usually his) family and the organisation he or she leads will all suffer in the long run. Unless you do something for a living that is truly critical, the claim that "I live to work" is nothing to be proud of.
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The views expressed here are those of the author and do not represent or reflect the views of RTÉ
