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What does a 60-hour week really produce?
Long weeks feel productive. Research on working hours says the extra hours stop paying off quickly, and the risks keep growing. Move the sliders.
Result
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- Injury risk: 61% higher with overtime. In a US study of 10,793 people, “working in jobs with overtime schedules was associated with a 61% higher injury hazard rate compared to jobs without overtime”. Dembe et al., 2005
- 60+ hours a week: 23% higher injury risk. “Working at least 60 hours per week was associated with a 23% increased hazard rate.” Dembe et al., 2005
- 55+ hours a week: stroke risk 35% higher. WHO and ILO: an “estimated 35% higher risk of a stroke and a 17% higher risk of dying from ischemic heart disease, compared to working 35-40 hours a week”. WHO/ILO, 2021
- Burned out very often or always: “63% more likely to take a sick day and 2.6 times as likely to be actively seeking a different job”, with 13% lower confidence in their performance and 23% more likely to visit the emergency room. Gallup, 2018 (about 7,500 employees)
The output curve follows Pencavel’s estimates for munition workers in 1916: proportional below 49 hours a week, peaking at about 63 hours, with 70 hours producing about what 56 do. The risks are averages from large studies. Both are warnings with evidence behind them, not predictions for a particular person.
See overload before it becomes burnout
Burnout Radar turns signals already in Jira (logged time against estimates, overdue work, critical deadlines, blocked issues) into a private weekly report for each person. Managers never see a person’s report; admins see team totals only. It is not a medical tool.
Sources
- John Pencavel, The Productivity of Working Hours, IZA Discussion Paper 8129, 2014.
- World Health Organization and International Labour Organization, Long working hours increasing deaths from heart disease and stroke, 17 May 2021.
- Dembe, Erickson, Delbos and Banks, The impact of overtime and long work hours on occupational injuries and illnesses, Occupational and Environmental Medicine 62(9), 2005.
- Gallup, Employee Burnout, Part 1: The 5 Main Causes, 12 July 2018.
Frequently asked questions
Does working more than 50 hours a week increase output?
Only a little, and then not at all. In Pencavel’s analysis of munition workers, output was proportional to hours below 49 hours a week, rose at a decreasing rate above it, peaked at about 63 hours, and output at 70 hours differed little from output at 56 hours.
Do these numbers apply to software teams?
Not directly. The output curve comes from manual work in 1916 and the risks are averages over large populations. Use them as a well-documented warning, not as a prediction for a particular person or team.
How can a team see overload early?
Look at signals that already exist in Jira: logged time against estimates, overdue work, critical deadlines, blocked issues. Burnout Radar turns them into a private weekly report for each person and shows admins only team totals.