{"id":994,"date":"2026-11-09T04:10:56","date_gmt":"2026-11-09T04:10:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/drcwtan.com\/?page_id=994"},"modified":"2026-11-09T04:10:57","modified_gmt":"2026-11-09T04:10:57","slug":"the-extra-hour-trap-when-working-longer-makes-leaders-less-effective","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/drcwtan.com\/?page_id=994","title":{"rendered":"The Extra Hour Trap: When Working Longer Makes Leaders Less Effective"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wp-block-post-date\"><time datetime=\"2026-11-09T04:05:59.336Z\">November 9, 2026<\/time><\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Why more working hours don&#8217;t always translate into better performance.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>The Illusion of More<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A CEO has an important strategic decision to make.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The day has already been demanding. Meetings, operational issues and urgent emails have consumed most of the available time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">At 8 p.m., the CEO decides to work another four hours.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">More time to review the numbers. More time to evaluate the risks. More time to prepare.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Surely, those additional hours must translate into better results.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>But what if the extra hours come at the expense of the very capacity needed to make good decisions?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This is the extra hour trap.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>When More Hours Produce Diminishing Returns<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">There is nothing inherently wrong with working long hours.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">During a major transaction, business crisis or critical project, additional effort may be necessary\u2014and genuinely productive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The problem begins when working longer becomes the default response to increasing demands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Research suggests that the relationship between working hours and productivity is not always linear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Economist John Pencavel examined historical data from British munitions workers and found that beyond a certain point, additional working hours generated progressively smaller increases in output.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The study involved industrial workers rather than modern executives, so its findings should not be treated as a precise productivity formula for CEOs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Nevertheless, it challenges a deeply ingrained assumption:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Twice the working hours do not necessarily produce twice the results.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And for leaders whose work depends heavily on judgment, problem-solving and decision-making, the implications deserve serious consideration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>The Hidden Cost of Borrowing from Sleep<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Consider an executive who regularly extends the working day by sacrificing two hours of sleep.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Initially, the arrangement may seem manageable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The executive remains productive, meetings continue and deadlines are met.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But the consequences of repeated sleep restriction may accumulate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In a controlled study, Van Dongen and colleagues (2003) restricted healthy adults to four, six or eight hours in bed per night over 14 consecutive days.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Participants in the four- and six-hour conditions demonstrated progressively worsening cognitive performance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Perhaps most concerning, their subjective assessment of sleepiness did not fully reflect the extent of their increasing impairment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In other words, <strong>people may become accustomed to feeling tired without becoming equally resistant to the performance consequences of insufficient sleep.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For business leaders, this creates a potentially dangerous blind spot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The executive may still feel confident.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The experience and expertise remain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But the capacity to sustain attention and process information effectively may be compromised.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The additional working hours may have created more time to work\u2014while reducing the quality of the capacity available to perform that work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Capability Is Not the Same as Capacity<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Organisations invest heavily in leadership capability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">They develop strategic thinking, financial expertise, negotiation skills and decision-making competencies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">These investments matter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But capability alone does not guarantee consistent performance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">To illustrate this relationship, I propose a simple conceptual framework:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Effective Leadership Performance \u2248 Capability \u00d7 Available Capacity<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Capability represents what a leader knows and can do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Capacity represents the cognitive, emotional and biological resources available to apply those capabilities effectively.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This is a conceptual framework rather than a scientifically validated mathematical equation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Its message is straightforward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A leader may possess exceptional capabilities but struggle to apply them consistently when chronically fatigued.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Working longer increases the time available for performance. It does not necessarily increase the capacity to perform well.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This distinction is particularly important when decisions involve substantial financial commitments, strategic uncertainty or significant consequences for employees and stakeholders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>The Difference Between a Sprint and a Marathon<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Elite athletes understand that extraordinary effort cannot be sustained indefinitely without adequate recovery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A sprinter may push to the limit during a race, but does not attempt to maintain that intensity throughout every hour of training.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Similarly, executives sometimes need to operate at exceptional intensity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A merger, financial restructuring or operational emergency may demand long hours and difficult trade-offs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But an occasional sprint is different from an organisation that operates in permanent crisis mode.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Short-term intensity may be necessary. Chronic exhaustion should not become a leadership strategy.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The objective is not to eliminate demanding work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It is to manage demanding work in ways that preserve the capacity required for sustained effectiveness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Three Questions Every Leader Should Ask<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Before extending another working day, consider three questions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>1. Am I creating meaningful value\u2014or simply staying busy?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Additional hours should be evaluated by the quality of outcomes, not merely the volume of activity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>2. What is the opportunity cost of this extra hour?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If another hour of work consistently reduces sleep, the trade-off may affect attention, judgment and effectiveness the following day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>3. Is this an exceptional demand\u2014or has it become my normal operating model?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Occasional periods of intense effort are different from chronic overwork. The latter deserves closer attention because its effects can accumulate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">These questions are not arguments for working less regardless of circumstances.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">They are arguments for working more intelligently.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>The Real Measure of Leadership Performance<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For many executives, time is the most visible measure of commitment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">We can count hours worked, meetings attended and emails answered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But the quality of leadership performance is harder to measure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It is reflected in the decisions made, problems solved, risks identified and people led.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">More hours can sometimes help achieve these outcomes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But beyond a certain point, additional effort may offer diminishing returns\u2014particularly when it repeatedly displaces recovery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The challenge for leaders is therefore not simply to find more hours in the day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It is to ensure that the hours available are supported by the capacity to use them effectively.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>The objective of leadership is not to maximise working hours. It is to maximise the quality of performance those hours produce.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Perhaps the next time we consider working late, we should ask ourselves:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Will this extra hour genuinely improve tomorrow&#8217;s outcome\u2014or am I borrowing from tomorrow&#8217;s performance to complete today&#8217;s work?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>References<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Pencavel, J. (2015). The productivity of working hours. <em>The Economic Journal, 125<\/em>(589), 2052\u20132076. <a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1111\/ecoj.12166\">https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1111\/ecoj.12166<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Van Dongen, H. P. A., Maislin, G., Mullington, J. M., &amp; Dinges, D. F. (2003). The cumulative cost of additional wakefulness: Dose-response effects on neurobehavioral functions and sleep physiology from chronic sleep restriction and total sleep deprivation. <em>Sleep, 26<\/em>(2), 117\u2013126. <a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1093\/sleep\/26.2.117\">https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1093\/sleep\/26.2.117<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Why more working hours don&#8217;t always translate into better performance. The Illusion of More A CEO has an important strategic decision to make. The day has already been demanding. Meetings, operational issues and urgent emails have consumed most of the available time. At 8 p.m., the CEO decides to work another four hours. More time [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":995,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"order-bump-settings":[],"_wpfnl_thankyou_order_overview":"on","_wpfnl_thankyou_order_details":"on","_wpfnl_thankyou_billing_details":"on","_wpfnl_thankyou_shipping_details":"on","footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-994","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/drcwtan.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/994","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/drcwtan.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/drcwtan.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/drcwtan.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/drcwtan.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=994"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/drcwtan.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/994\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":996,"href":"https:\/\/drcwtan.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/994\/revisions\/996"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/drcwtan.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/995"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/drcwtan.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=994"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}