In many countries, people are spending more hours at their workplace. Why is that? Is that a negative and positive development?

Working overtime has been increasingly common among employees in many countries. The reason for this is the need for extra remuneration to survive, and my firm conviction is that this is more likely to bring about negative consequences. The major reason why many people wish to work extra hours is the added payment they receive in addition to their monthly wages. Indeed, in recent years the escalating cost of living has made life increasingly difficult for people from lower classes, the salary of whom barely suffices to afford basic necessities. This is especially the case in big cities where citizens find themselves heavily indebted when trying to handle prohibitively high day-to-day living expenses. Working additional shifts for money, consequently, has been less of an option but more of an obligation for the survival and the well-being of citizens living on low-to-middle incomes. Working overtime negatively affects workers’ health and their personal life. In countries where work commitment is considered a virtue, employees often feel obliged to sacrifice normal eating habits and workout time for more working hours, and they are eventually subject to deteriorating health as a result. In the worst scenario, workaholism brings in its wake ‘karoshi’, the term which was originally coined by the Japanese in the 20th century and has become increasingly popular worldwide, to indicate work-related morality. Moreover, spending more hours at work means less time for families. Many issues such as domestic violence or juvenile delinquency often result from working parents’ negligence in taking care of their children. In conclusion, employees’ inclination towards working overtime stem from the desire to earn more, and my firm conviction is that this is a negative development as it worsens their health and deprives them of their time for family. Vocab highlights overtime: (làm) thêm giờ so với giờ làm việc quy định remuneration: tiền nhận được khi làm việc added payment: phần tiền kiếm thêm escalating cost of living: mức sống tăng cao suffice: đủ basic necessities: nhu yếu phẩm prohibitively high: cao quá mức living expenses: chi phí sinh hoạt work commitment: sự tận tụy trong công việc virtue: đức tính workaholism: sự đam mê công việc bring in its wake: mang theo nó work-related morality: tử vong liên quan đến công việc domestic violence: bạo hành gia đình juvenile delinquency: phạm pháp vị thành niên result from: bắt nguồn từ negligence: sự xao nhãng trách nhiệm stem from: bắt nguồn từ inclination: sự nghiêng về