Teschner’s 25th NH Business Review Column

This is is my 25th Growing Leadership column in “New Hampshire Business Review,” going back to 2018. I am thankful to the readers and the NHBR team and welcome feedback and suggestions.

Our work culture sometimes conveys a message that those who work the longest hours are the most valuable employees. I respectfully disagree, believing that those who work the smartest are more valuable than those who work the longest. In my leadership trainings, I argue that regularly working more than 50 hours a week, including frequently responding to emails after work hours and on weekends, may actually be doing your business a disservice.

Writing in “Harvard Business Review,” Sarah Green Carmichael cites research that overwork leads to health problems, including impaired sleep, depression, heavy drinking, diabetes, impaired memory, and heart disease – which, in turn, result in absenteeism, turnover, and rising insurance costs. These workers may lose sight of the big picture, “get lost in the weeds,” and make more mistakes.

 Errors and unhealthy employees are hardly good for business!

 Read the full column, published on November 19, 2021, here.