Which industries work the longest hours?

If someone were to ask you that question, what would you think? Lawyers? Turns out, the people that plug in the longest hours in the office work in marketing.
According to a new survey from U.K. recruiting firm Robert Walters, marketers rounded up the top spot for industries that work 50-plus hours a week. Coincidentally, the study also found that 57% marketers believe they need to change roles at least every three years to progress their career, so it could just be an indication of a general attitude of the field.
Who else makes the cut for working way too many hours? Rounding up the top 5 are:
1) Marketers
2) HR Professionals
3) IT specialists
4) Lawyers
5) Sales people
Overall, we’re all working longer hours than we were 2 years ago. 82% of professionals surveyed work more than 40 hours a week, up from 68% in 2011. As for those working 50-plus hours a week, that number has increased from 19% in 2011, to 28% in 2013.
Here’s the funny thing about these findings. Studies consistently show that working more than 40-hours a week is, well, essentially useless. In fact, once we cross the 40-hour mark (on a consistent basis) our productivity levels have been shown to consistently decline. There’s nothing wrong with occasionally pushing the limits on a per-project or deadline basis—I’m a huge proponent myself of working this way. It’s actually been shown to be a solid business practice when done in short stretches over a couple of weeks.
But permanently working at a faster pace doesn’t get the same returns. Working 50% more (60 hours a week instead of 40) does not result in 50% greater productivity. At best, you’ll get a 20-25% improvement in productivity.
Moral of the story? Get more done in less time, and go home early this week!