Peaking Today, Taking It Easy Tomorrow: Daily Performance Dynamics of Working Long Hours

Abstract

Underlying the “ideal worker” image that pervades many organizational cultures is the assumption that working longer hours equates to higher performance, despite recovery research that suggests that long work hours might actually impair future work performance. In an effort to reconcile these differences in how long work hours are thought to relate to job performance, we develop and test a conceptual model in which daily boosts in same-day performance associated with working longer hours could be offset by lower next-day performance. More specifically, we examine if working a longer day than usual reduces sleep, which has the potential to diminish physical (i.e., physical energy) and psychological (i.e., resilience) resources the next morning, consequently impairing next-day work performance. In a 5-day experience sampling study of 67 employee–coworker dyads (276 days), using sleep data from a wearable device (i.e., Fitbit) in combination with daily self-report surveys and coworker performance ratings, results indicated that daily work hours were positively related to same-day work performance. Our results further indicated that work hours were negatively related to next-day work performance through reduced sleep duration and morning resilience, but not through diminished physical energy. Together, our findings indicate that although employees may experience same-day performance gains related to working long hours, they also may pay a price the following day, as longer workdays prevent employees from recovering overnight.