Dilemma
In a team, overtime is the norm, and managers reward that. An employee in that team likes the work, but also value a good work-life balance. Does that person have to go along with the team standard, or ‘just’ working from nine to five – with the risk of missing a future promotion?
Accept that you will not be promoted
In this matter it makes a difference whether you are paid per hour or whether you receive a fixed monthly salary, says labor sociologist Janna Besamusca, affiliated with Utrecht University. Among other things, she conducts research into working hours. “Those who get paid per hour, for example at the construction site, often get a higher hourly wage for overtime.” With a fixed monthly salary, according to the researcher, the employer assumes that a fixed duties must be possible within the agreed number of hours. “Any” over time “has already been included in that salary.”
According to Besamusca, the choice or not to work on it can depend on that. “For people who work over with a fixed monthly salary, the risk that the overtime will become structural without any extra payment,” she says. “That is not allowed by law.”
Scientific research shows that the ideal employee is seen as someone who is always available for work, says Besamusca. In home care and at supermarkets, these are the people who play extra shifts when gaps fall into the schedule, and in journalism and legal profession, for example, it is the people who work the most extra hours and are always available. “Ultimately, that will be the people who are the fastest eligible for a promotion.”
‘It is not that we do not work much in the Netherlands. In other countries it just happens even more ‘
Suppose you have young children and just want to work from nine to five to focus on the family. Then, according to Besamusca, it can be difficult to get a permanent contract or a position as a manager in some organizations. “You can do some things,” she says. “You can join the standard in the workplace. You cannot do that and accept the consequences, namely that you may not make a promotion. Or you can try to change the organization from within.”
The latter often turns out to be very difficult, she says. It usually only works if the rest of the team is as much troubled by it. “Then together you can look for ways to focus less on presence in hours and more on the quality of the work.” That is why, says Besamusca, you can sometimes better look for an organization where the work culture suits you.
Nuance deserves that ‘the ideal employee’ should always be available. “That norm occurs in the early industrial times in the late 18th century,” says Besamusca. “Before that time, the system was aimed at producing enough to be able to live as a society. If you look at the world like this, you can stop working if the highest needed is done. Now the system is about producing as much as possible, and works as much as possible as a solution for everything.”
It is not a fact that everyone thinks about work that way, says Besamusca. Take the Anti-Work Movementwho opposes the idea that work determines the value of a person in society. “According to this movement, work should not be a benchmark for how successful or happy you are.”
Finally, according to Besamusca, the Netherlands is not known as a country where people are overtime above average. “According to research from 2022, much more happens in England, Austria, Portugal and Ireland, among others. It is not that we do not work much in the Netherlands. In other countries it just happens even more.”
Okay, if overtime fits your own values
Overtime can contribute to stress complaints and burnouts in the longer term, see work psychologist Erik Rutgers. At the Occupational Health and Safety Service, he speaks to people who have dropped out at work. Overtime sometimes plays a role in this, he says.
In general, according to Rutgers, it is great to say when busy: I work a little more. But in practice he sees that overtime is more the result of pressure that the organization imposes on the employee, and not that the person concerned wants it so badly. “There are often problems there. It is important to work from your own motivation and values.”
According to Rutgers, a little more work to get a promotion, according to Rutgers, does not have to be problematic either. “The question is: how is it going to be? What you often see is that overtime persists because more tasks follow in promotion. It is important to ensure that this does not lead to structural overtime in consultation with the employer.”
Structural overtime can eventually lead to stress complaints such as sleeping problems, Rutgers sees. “People don’t have enough time to recover and are still in the head when they go to bed.” Then you go see, he says, that overtime is great if you have the space. But as soon as stress complaints or private problems start playing, it is no longer sustainable.
So
Only work if the motivation comes from yourself. It is great to adjust temporarily to make promotion, for example. You can also decide not to do that, and accept that that promotion is not in it for the time being. Also know that you can look at your job differently: not everyone lets their self -esteem depend on success at work.