The Culture of Overwork: A Review

Author’s Main Argument

Judy Rebick wanted to shed light on the problem of overwork in Canadian culture. The paper starts by stating her qualifications to speak on this topic, which sets the reader up for an assessment of credibility. Following this, she uses her view on the topic regarding how it has negatively affected her. Case studies usually offer deep insight into one particular case, which can be helpful but not representative of the entire population. For this reason, I became a bit skeptical. She goes on to say that a “very male-defined” society is contributing to work weeks longer than forty hours, along with advancements in technology, self-employment, non-standard jobs, cutbacks, and weakened labor. “Cutbacks” seemed to be the strongest facet of this argument. With cutbacks, there will be only a few that remain, and out of these, few are individuals even more aware of their expendability. This can force someone to work harder to maintain their place within a company. Statistics from two Canadian reports sound relevant, but the protocol behind each study is not mentioned, nor is it guaranteed to include a representative sample of Canadians. She goes on to highlight two more case studies, which are informative but again do not necessarily represent the broader population. Tara Cleveland willingly works extra hours and even says that many are “grateful” to have interesting jobs. Chris Schenk pointed to the recession of the early 1990s as the first wave of downsizing that required fewer people to do more work. He then tells us to ask nurses managers how stress from overwork negatively affected their lives. She makes a strong point here but at the end of the argument, she asserts different work scenarios in Europe that should act as templates for reform in Canada. This highlights the possibility of changing labor laws but does not say anything about whether Canadians as whole regard the current work situation as problematic. Bringing up Europe would only be relevant if there is indeed a problem of overwork in Canada. The differences in work culture in Europe have no bearing on whether Canadians are overworked. The best information in favor of Rebick’s argument offered in this article is from Chris Schenk, and that is only because he is a designated expert on the topic being the research director of the Ontario Federation of Labour.

Faulty Sources

According to Rebick, “A Statistics Canada report from November 1999 says that one-third of those aged 25 to 44 describe themselves as workaholics (p. 397). Studies show that long work hours are a major contributor to stress, depression, burnout, and a variety of other illnesses. StatsCan data indicates that those who switched to a workweek longer than 40 hours increased cigarette and alcohol consumption and gained weight” (Rebick, 2001, p. 397). I am not able to fully gauge the accuracy of this quotation because out of those aged 25-44, how many of them work 40 hours per week? How large was the sample size? What were the other factors such as overall contentment with the job? What was the operational definition of “workaholic?” Other factors such as relationship satisfaction and overall contentment with life should also be considered before attributing an increase in cigarette use, alcohol use, and weight to overworking. It is a reasonable source if the sample size is large enough and if the questionnaires given were reliable (able to be replicated) and valid (addressed the original research question).

Rebick (2001) highlights another study from StatsCan, stating “most of the one-fifth of Canadians who worked overtime during the first quarter of 1997 did so for free” (p. 398). This is a stark statistic but what does “most of the one-fifth” denote? If this statistic is meant to represent all Canadians, how much is “most of the one-fifth?” I agree that working for free is inappropriate and unlawful, but how many of the one-fifth care about being unpaid? If a small percentage of those people were happy with their jobs regardless, would it still be considered “most of?” I doubt it, yet there is no way to determine the happiness of these workers without adding a questionnaire.

Another faulty statistic given is from the U.S. study that showed “family breakup is three to eight times more likely in couples with children if one parent works nights or does shift work” (p. 398). “Three to eight times more” is a wide range, speaking to the inaccuracy of the statistic. Moreover, “family breakup” is not clearly defined. It could be talking about divorce, separation, or a temporary move – it does not specify. The sample size is never described so nothing is known about the population being described other than it studies families from the United States.

Distinguishing Fact and Opinion

She asserts “Overwork is becoming a cultural norm, and it’s bad for us” (Rebick, 2001, p. 397). This statement encompasses a fact and an opinion. The notion of “becoming” is questionable, for it is almost certain that overwork is a cultural norm if the definition of overwork is operationalized as a workweek that exceeds 40 hours and/or unpaid overtime. Still, no matter the definition of overwork, it is an opinionated statement is the idea that overwork is “bad” for us. This turns overwork into a moral issue. To Rebick’s credit, she cites a study mentioned earlier in which she lists some of the results of overwork: stress, burnout, depression. – all types of phenomenon that few would take as signs of fortune. In that case, overwork is “bad” if it is operationally defined as such.

As mentioned earlier, Rebick discusses “the very male-defined norm” of working endless hours (Rebick, 2001, p. 398). This use of the word “very” already hints towards an opinionated assertion. It is common for both men and women of the same household to work nowadays, and for women to work in general. There may be a difference in earnings--with men still edging out women though that gap is closing—and in the ratio of male-to-female CEOs there is a huge disparity, but does that make it a “male-defined norm?” The notion cannot be entirely proven or disproven so it is an opinion.

Lastly, Rebick states “If working long hours makes us unhappy and unhealthy, why do we do it?” (p. 398). Not everyone is made to be unhappy or unhealthy due to her arbitrary idea of overwork. To her defense, she did not explicitly include everyone, but she did use the word “us” which is meant to denote inclusion.

Underlying Assumptions

There is an underlying assumption that people in Canada are overworked and that something must be done to stop it. What if some people like to work more than 40 hours a week to attain more money, or simply because work is a positive uplifting experience for them? Wouldn’t more work mean more positive experiences for them? Would it still be considered “bad?” I do not believe this argument would be relevant to someone who is seeking overtime or someone who would jump at the chance to work more. Some people like their jobs enough to do so or see enough of a profit in it aside from monetary value, such as invigoration or social stimulation.

Someone who gains livelihood from working more than 40 hours a week would not agree with this article. The issue could be changed to “Why are people are working for free?” In that sense, her examples of overwork could be more valid. Working extra for free has become quite common.

Another underlying assumption is that since there is a problem, it can be fixed most effectively by studying facts about how work happens in Europe. Rebick states various facts about shorter workweeks and a more open-door policy regarding time off. These sound like reasonable requests for people who have problems with getting time off; however, to assume a particular European system would work better if implemented in Canada is to disregard the entire “culture” of overwork and Canadians’ ability to do work as they see fit.

Fallacious Reasoning

Rebick’s reasoning is fallacious. The underlying assumptions are meant to sway the reader in her direction while she makes claims using studies that offer minimal information or case studies that represent isolated situations. Even in the case of Tara Cleveland, Tara saw enough of a profit in working extra hours for no extra money. The fact that her mother is a social activist has no bearing on Tara’s happiness on the job, yet it is used as part of the argument because social activism is meant to be a foreseeable solution to overworking. Overworking is a subjective thing. It cannot be measured solely in the number of hours worked. Some people can work an hour and feel overworked. Is that valid? Surely this is not the same argument stated by Rebick, as she is battling the possibility of a legal extension of the workweek to 60 hours, which would likely be met with an uproar, or would it? The fact that Ontario pushed to have their workweek extended probably means that enough people petitioned to have it done. To say that the current system caters to overworking is not farfetched, but to treat it like a problem is. The title of her article is “The Culture of Overwork” not “The Problem of Overwork.” She seems to treat overwork as a problem, not a culture. The word culture speaks of beliefs, customs, and attitudes of a particular group. If there is a culture of anything, then it is understood that things are done attuned to that specific culture. To an outsider or someone who disagrees with the culture, it may seem morally wrong. With labor laws, things can get tricky, and the line between good and bad is drawn with work hours per week in this case. Europe working differently does not mean they are not overworked. People work overtime of their free will, even if they do so unpaid. What this article helped me to realize was that people’s opinions of work vary greatly. Not everyone is willing to put in work, to begin with, and those that do will probably differ in work ethic, as far as what it means to “work hard” and “overwork” for that matter. Tara Cleveland stated, “most kids don’t know what their rights are and they’re just grateful to have an interesting job” (Rebick, 2001, p. 398). This statement only holds for people within her circle or people she has heard about, but it illustrates why I have gone the extra mile in my endeavors. I have not always known my rights, nor did I care enough to find out. I was just keen on doing whatever my boss needed from me to keep my job. That is the name of the game. I’ve been fortunate enough to work a few interesting jobs, and they were not easy to get.

It made me consider what I am willing to do to keep a position I care about. Would I work overtime every day for free because it is expected? I guess it depends on the job. If it’s my dream job, or even the best job I can get at the time, I probably would. Perhaps the problem is not overwork, but the difficulty in obtaining the position. A decrease in pressure to keep a job because there are better ones out there easily acquired would likely lessen the willingness to work extra hours, paid or unpaid. Networking has become increasingly important as a precursor to a job interview. There is a high degree of difficulty in earning a place within a company, and people are willing to do nearly anything to protect it. This includes working over 40 hours a week.

Reference

Rebick, Judy. "The Culture of Overwork." Readers Choice. 6th ed. Upper Saddle River: Pearson Education, 2010. 397-400. Print.