Work or overwork †balance with synergies Essay Example for Free

Work or overwork – balance with synergies Essay Efficient management of overwork is learnt with experience of work. As years pass by, work experience shapes a person into a disciplined individual offering ability to manage work with efficiency and perfection. All that is important here is to realize one’s own strength, skills, experience in terms of physical work, mind work (desk jobs) which result in overwork either by extending working hours or by multi-tasking. A clear assessment and analysis of SWOT would benefit an individual. What is overwork? Oxford lexicon provides the meaning as â€Å"working too hard†, â€Å"excessive work causing exhaustion† and wordnet search provides the meaning as â€Å"the act of working too much or too long†. e. g. he became ill from overwork. Normal working hours fall in a range of 5-8 hrs per day in most of the organizations and industries all over the world. Overworking offers additional monetary benefits for industrial workers and employees and it is purely in the interest of workforce, OT (over timing) at the time of payment of salaries is considered, which also increase the production / output capacities of organizations. Overwork ! is it a problem? American Institute of Stress report 2005 states that $300 billion per annum were spent by American employers due to stress-related illnesses caused by overworking. Increasingly stressful overworking hours harm the workforce in developing cardiac problems and clinical therapy related problems which mounts the medical bills. In order to prevent such emotional or health related risks, an individual must develop a self-help chart of taking a quick-break in work to relieve the stress and also handle any grievance without delay. Very few people practice spiritual development which provides self-confidence, ability to handle overwork without any problem in any given situation. Lengthening of workweek Most of the countries practice 5-6 working days a week. According to the report of ILO U. S work records 1,884 hours, France 1,545 hours and Germany 1,444 hours per year. Dierk Hirschel, Economist of German Federation of Trade Unions, considers that 35 hours / week should be the norm and states that â€Å"We work less in Germany but have a higher level of productivity, we can produce more per hour because people are relaxed since they don’t have to work as much as in other countries†. Factors for considering lengthening of workweek are demographical, gender and a clear assessment of skill of workforce. 79% of U. S employees have access to paid vacations which helps in relaxing, enjoying a holiday with family which rejuvenates moods and energy to get back to work with freshness. Away from hustle-bustle is the best remedy to regain energies, spend time and dedication to family and also to review achievements made at work. In fact this is the best offer employees receive as incentive from work environments. Lenghtening of workweek offers dual benefit to organisations and employees in terms of increasing output for former and monetary benefits for latter. This is again dependent on the volume and size of organisations in these globalised 24/7 economy which has increased workloads to a greater extent extending the need of efficient workforce seeking work as first priority and efficiency and perfection rule and lead in a professional environment. SWOT Analysis Organisations must endeavor to make an analysis of SWOT of workforce as this analysis will help organisations to consider the percentage of output that can be derived out of each employee. Also employees in order to get trained for one’s own benefit, must make a list of S=strengths, W=weaknesses, O=opportunities and T=threats to overcome deficiencies and to make improvements in the core areas. This analysis will help an employee to improve in working hours, handle tough tasks and also to manage time in work places. If proper management at personal level is positive, management at work becomes easier as a process in a course of time along through the work experience. Improper assessment of one’s own skills and abilities and undertaking the tasks which are beyond one’s capacity, certainly lead to failure and lowers the image and reputation in work environment. Conclusion Work is the basic necessity to earn money in order to make a living and irrespective of gender, every one need to work whether small or big according to education and skills. Overwork is challenging and it is an opportunity to display one’s efficiency and success against all odds. Pooling up of resources to make improvisation in one’s work and grow in job by overworking gaining recognition will further strengthen one’s reputation in an organisation and goodwill is an intangible asset that organisations admire and can never afford to lose a hard working employee. Conclusively overwork and lengthening of workweek is in the interest of employees and must build enough strength to work on. These opportunities must be used to the fullest extent by employees while learning how to balance family and work, particularly in these globalised times where work is ruling.