Working 80 Hours a Week--and Not Complaining
Author: Winston J. Brill, Ph.D.

Working Eighty Hours a Week—and Not Complaining!

To remain competitive, every employee needs to put in a good 100 hours a week working on assigned goals. That's impossible, you say. There's no way your staff will accept anywhere near that workload. And with budgets so tight, you can't afford the overtime expense.

But there is a way to get that extra time from your staff—and it won't entail additional costs.

How can this be achieved? It's easy: Increase enthusiasm for the project goals.

If there's no enthusiasm, then the project is just a job. If there's no enthusiasm, your staff will frequently check the clock to see how much longer until lunch or until they leave the parking lot. If there's no enthusiasm, tremendous opportunities will be lost.

On the other hand, if enthusiasm runs high, then the goals become exciting challenges. Enthusiastic employees continue to think about their projects after they leave the workplace. While driving, showering, watching TV or taking a walk, thoughts of work problems arise. In this way, the extra "working" hours are gained—at no cost to the company, and without complaint!

Furthermore, these unpaid work hours can be the most productive of the week. Most of my ideas arose away from work. Some famous non-workplace examples include: Post-it Notes, thought about during church services, Archimedes solving the crown problem, when he entered his bath, and Newton formulating the laws of gravity, as he observed an apple fall.

These quiet times permit the mind to wander into territories and combinations that weren't considered in the office, where the pressure to focus on the immediate task takes priority over imagination.

So, now you know why it's critical to stimulate enthusiasm and get your staff to "work" during non-working hours.








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Winston J. Brill speaks, consults and publishes on enhancing creativity and innovation in business. See www.WinstonBrill.com.

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