Working hard - Sample

At school and in the workplace, there are some people who always go the extra mile, putting in considerably more effort than their peers. This essay will attempt to explore the causes underlying this phenomenon and argue that whereas this is mostly positive, there are some downsides that employers and employees have to keep in mind.

The reasons for people going above and beyond at work and school, many would argue, are mostly cultural and societal. The prevailing mindset of our society can be categorized as meritocratic, or in other words, we value academic and professional success extremely highly, and hold hard work in similarly high regards. So long as a person works hard, the thinking goes, they can achieve success, thereby contributing to society and gain upward social mobility. These people, via their efforts, desire recognition from society equally as much as they want wealth or fame.

Of course, there is also the reality that many workers are extremely passionate about their work. For a portion of the population, their careers are what gives their lives purpose and meaning, and thus they simply lose track of time and lose themselves in their work. For this type of people, the amount of effort they exert is almost irrelevant, since they do not actually consider their work laborious or bothersome. To onlookers, these are the individuals whose magnitude of effort may seem almost incomprehensible.

Despite the obvious benefits of hard work - recognition, improvements to social status, wealth, etc. - there are some lesser known adverse effects of overworking. The most prominent is burnout, where people overexert themselves physically and mentally, leading to various illnesses and disorders. Research carried out in recent years have indicated that a statistically significant portion of working adults, especially in countries with lesser degrees of personal freedom and a higher focus on hard work culture, suffers from burn out. Experts have also warned that mental and physical exhaustion is correlated with increased risk of depression, heart disease, and certain types of cancer. At the very least, this represents a loss of productivity and economic output and can certainly impact a nation’s prosperity and social stability in the long run. Therefore, it is crucial that both companies and their laborers are aware of the inherent risks of overworking, and prioritize worker’s well-being over short-term gains.

In conclusion, there are various cultural, societal, as well as personal factors at play that causes some people to work harder than others. However beneficial this may seem, it is not without its downsides, and these risks should be appropriately assessed and managed by both employers and workers.

(434 words, band 6.5-7)