Extra Hours at Work: Good for Your Career or Bad for the Rest of Your Life?

If you think about it, forty hours a week is a lot of time to spend doing anything. But for those who work full-time, we give at least that much of our lives to our jobs. If you're one of the lucky ones, you spend that time doing something you enjoy or can at least tolerate. If you're in the "working for a paycheck and not much more" camp, though, the workweek seems even longer and your time off flies by much too fast.

As if that isn't enough, many of us are faced with employers, jobs and work-responsibilities that require even more. We come in early, stay late, or drag ourselves into the office on the weekends to plow through piles of tasks we can't get to in our standard workday. We do it more out of necessity than by choice, and often resent having even less time to live the rest of our lives.

If you can't remember the last time you left work on time or took a full weekend without even checking your office email account, you might need to sit back and reflect a bit. Life is too short to give it all to earning a paycheck. When you're mired in a stressful and demanding job, it can be easy to get so locked into your routine of drudgery that you don't even realize life is passing you by. Even if you don't feel angry, bitter, resentful or overscheduled now, you could get there eventually if you don't take stock of your situation.

Only you can decide how much is too much. Once you make that decision, you're also the one who will have to decide what to do about it. The following are some questions you can ask yourself about your employer, your job and your life to help determine whether the extra hours you put in are worth the sacrifice.

Am I putting in extra hours because of a special project, goal or event, or is working around the clock an ongoing thing?

Almost every job has certain time periods where employees are required to get more done than usual. Maybe your company hosts a huge annual conference or event. Maybe you're implementing a new system. Maybe the publication you work for falls under a tight deadline a few times a year. During such periods, employees can expect to go above and beyond the normal call of duty.

If you like the work you do and the people you work with, this is usually a tolerable experience. Working overtime to accomplish a goal that is outside the day-to-day office expectations can be exhausting, but also challenging, interesting and rewarding. Knowing that you're putting in the extra time to do something your company wouldn't be able to do otherwise, and that once the project, event or deadline is over things will go back to normal, is a manageable situation. Rolling up your sleeves and giving up a few nights or weekends in situations like these can often bring you satisfaction and help you get ahead.

But in far too many organizations, it isn't a special event, project or deadline that keeps employees in the office long after they should have been home with their families. Too often, it is understaffing, inadequate resources, poor management or inefficient systems that force employees to sacrifice outside the normal workday just to keep their heads above water.

If you find yourself working late or giving up weekends on a regular basis just to keep up with your regular job responsibilities, you may be in this situation. Ask yourself whether there are things you could do differently to get tasks done faster and more efficiently, or whether the overload is truly due to circumstances beyond your control.

In a positive work environment, you'll be able to discuss such things with your boss and brainstorm for creative solutions that allow you to have a life outside of work while still being productive. Most professionals can expect to put in a little overtime now and then, but it shouldn't be a constant fact of life. If you find your company is unresponsive to your wish to improve circumstances and come up with better ways of doing things, it may be time to look elsewhere.

Do I get satisfaction out of what I'm doing?

If you're going to be working while your friends and family are being together, playing, eating and sleeping, then you should at least be doing something you enjoy.

A computer programmer who would rather be creating cutting-edge web functionality than reading a novel or watching a favorite TV show can be perfectly content sitting in his cubicle long after everyone else has gone home for the day. A writer who has taken on some extra assignments to make ends meet but would spend her Saturday afternoon pecking away at her keyboard anyway probably won't resent not being able to meet her girlfriends for lunch or get out in her garden. If you love the work you do, spending more time doing it than a standard workweek would require doesn't have a negative impact on your quality of life, unless you get to the point that you're neglecting other important aspects of your world.

But if you don't like the work you're doing, overtime can be excruciating. If your job has become mundane, routine or uninteresting, every extra hour feels like added time on a prison sentence. If you're finding yourself feeling this way, it might be time to re-evaluate your situation.

Am I neglecting my family or friends?

Whether you love or hate the work you do, one of the most important aspects of your life is your family and friends. If you can't remember the last time you were able to spend time helping your child with homework or taking him on a spontaneous trip, it's time to shift your priorities. Likewise, if you can't recall your last romantic evening with your spouse or partner or "girls or boys night out" with your closest friends, you may be missing far too many chances to make valuable memories with the most important people in your life.

When you realize you're missing out on the truly important things in life, its time to figure out how to achieve more balance in your work and playtime.

If you spend most of your life on the job because of your own workaholism, take a step back and think about those you love. Build more time for your family and friends into your life. You'll be glad you did.

If you're missing out on too many important moments with your loved ones because of the demands of your job, and can't find a way to improve the situation, you may want to start looking elsewhere.

Can you carry on a conversation about things besides work?

One of the best ways to determine whether work is controlling too much of your life is to listen - really listen - to the conversations you have when you aren't on the job.

Do you start and end every day by complaining to your spouse or significant other about work? Are your outings with friends just additional opportunities to talk about what's going on in your job or your field? When you call your parents for your weekly-check in, is the answer to Mom's "so, what have you been up to?" question nothing more than a play-by-play of office politics and how close you are to your next promotion? When someone does try to talk to you about other things - the lives of family and friends, current events, books, movies, music, sports or hobbies, do you find yourself at a loss for words because living and breathing your job has moved all these things way off your radar?

If you can't think of anything to talk about but your job, then you need to figure out a way to get out and breathe some fresh air. Whether you love your job or are just consumed by it, having nothing but work on the brain is a bad thing.

Am I being rewarded for my diligence?

One of my first bosses once told me that the best thing I could do for my career was to always ask "what's in it for me?" He made it clear that it wasn't his responsibility, or the job of my company, to take care of my finances, my happiness, or my career. If I wanted to be happy and successful, I had to be selfish enough to make sure I was getting back what I gave.

So if you plan to continue living on Overtime Island, ask yourself what you're getting in exchange for the sacrifices you make. Are you being offered experience that will help you get promoted or build your resume? Are you being financially rewarded for your dedication through either bonuses or raises?

If the opportunities and the cash that come from working overtime are helping you to meet your goals, then what you're doing may very well be worth the effort. But if all you're doing is treading water, then you might want to start looking for a lifeboat.

Is my employer flexible with my schedule in exchange for my willingness to put in extra time?

So your company expects you to cough up some nights and weekends. That's part of the job.

Again, take some time to look at what they're willing to give in exchange for your extra hours. Are they reasonably flexible with your schedule? Will you get comp time down the road when things aren't quite as busy? Are they open to you shifting your schedule when needed to take care of personal business? Can you work from home now and then?

An employer who expects you to go above and beyond when needed should be willing to extend flexibility to you as well. The company that will work with you to maintain balance in your life and keep you at your most productive is one worth your best efforts. One who enforces rigid rules in terms of work schedules and locations but still expects you to carve away at your scheduled "off time" to do your job is leading you down the path to burnout. It might be time to get off the road.

Of course, asking these questions doesn't offer up any golden solutions. Determining that your employer has unfair expectations and that you want more time for the rest of your life doesn't mean you'll be able to improve the situation right away.

But knowing what you're getting out of the extra time you put in, how much of the rest of you're life you're willing to put on hold, and what you can expect in the future can help you figure out a game plan for improving your quality of life. Maybe all the signs are pointing to things getting better where you work, and you'll stick it out and be rewarded for your efforts. Maybe awareness that you need some relief will allow you to work with your boss to make your operation a more efficient one. Or maybe you'll find that the best you can do is polish your resume and move on to something more flexible and reasonable.