People tend to work longer hours nowadays. Working long hours has a negative effect on themselves, their families and the society, so working hours should be restricted. Do you agree or disagree?

In recent years, working hours have become a controversial issue, at a time when employees' benefits have been given serious thought. Although the extension of working hours is believed to have an impact on general well-being and result in work-family conflict and job stress, this practice is remarkably popular in many countries, I am supportive of the argument that long working hours have a negative impact upon individuals, the organisations they work for, and ultimately upon the national economy and society as a whole.

To job holders, working long hours triggers at least two problems. It is not only to damage personal relationships (with families particularly), disrupt social lives and impede community activities but also to cause a feeling of stress, a psychological disturbance that is experienced by many working people. It also tends to exert pressure on the employment market and make fewer employment opportunities available. Those with caring responsibilities for example, would be disadvantaged, because they are either unable or unwilling to work long hours, A high unemployment rate is always regarded as a threat to a country's economy.

To employers, long working hours, although promising maximum benefit from limited resources every now and then, have destructive effects in the long term. The primary reason is that employees tend to be less productive, and meanwhile, at greater risks of sickness. It would lead not only to the lower quality of work outputs but also to high turnover and absenteeism. As a result, employers have to spend much more on recruiting and training new workers. To a country as a whole, it has chronic effects, disabling the optimisation of resource use, human capital and natural resources.

Some might argue that it is reasonable for an employer to expect some degree of flexibility during a particularly busy period, but to those employers, reliance on the jobs with extended hours has the tendency to become a regular event. Tolerance of this practice would allow employers to exploit labour and disregard the benefits that employees are entitled for, thereby posing a challenge to the legal system. It is time that employers assessed alternatives like rescheduling， flexible working arrangements and job redesign to explore the full potential of each employee.

As shown from the above discussion one can see no reason why working long hours is acceptable. It would lead to low productivity and frequent sick leaves, thereby doing more harm than good to employers and the society alike.