PAKISTAN’S labour laws cap the standard workweek at 48 hours. And although, on average, the typical work week is indeed 47.4 hours for working men and women as per the latest Labour Force Survey (LFS), a more careful breakdown reveals a telling picture.

Men spend 15 more hours in formal productive work than women per week on average. Moreover, a large swathe of men works more than 48 hours per week. Here, the LFS shows that it is men in urban Sindh who see the highest averages at 54-hour workweeks. Similarly, it is men in service and sales-based professions who work the longest hours — nearly 57-hour weeks.

What are the repercussions of long work hours for men?

Working more than 50 hours per week has been linked with a crucial decline in worker output. ILO studies find that alertness and resourcefulness are compromised with excessive work hours, particularly for those who have responsibilities outside the workplace too. Moreover, long hours have been linked with high worker turnover and absenteeism which add to firm costs and the work burden of those who stay back. Also, more time spent at work means higher electricity and machine-operating costs, again cutting down profits especially when this is not matched with higher worker productivity.

That stress is directly related to long work hours and the trend of workers being constantly present ‘at work’ via phone and email is undeniable. Not only do these long hours mean conflict between work and other roles, but the health effects extend from reduced sleep and increased risk of occupational injuries to hypertension, cardiovascular disease and diabetes.

Unsurprisingly, a 2015 study by Stanford business professors on the US using data from the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey finds that workplace stress costs about $125 billion to $190bn per year in healthcare expenses with overwork accounting for $48bn of that.

The father must have stress-free time outside of work.

Aside from high health costs and productivity effects of heavy work burdens, the family is the other major fallout of long labour hours of men.

Studies from several countries eg US, Norway as well as low- and middle-income countries have highlighted that more time spent with the father, especially in the first year, has a positive influence on child development. The key is positive interaction — with an attentive father, allowing the child to lead play. For this, the father must have stress-free time outside of work. Even amongst older children, lack of regular time with the father has been linked with behavioural and health problems.

Further, in light of the productive and reproductive divide between the genders, longer labour hours for men increasingly shifts the already heavy care burden towards women. As the incidence of nuclear families, especially in urban Pakistan, increases, familial support for childcare declines. Frequent absences of the man due to employment likely translates into women shouldering not just socially mandated childcare, but also a broadening sphere of other household tasks that may typically fall in the man’s domain.

No wonder the LFS reports that wives of men working more than 48 hours typically only work part-time, if at all. These working women then seem to be compensating for the greater housework burden by spending fewer hours in the labour market. This likely widens the gender pay gap further; according to the latest LFS, hour for hour, working women earn only 73 per cent of men’s earnings. Further, there exists vast empirical evidence detailing a positive association between women’s earnings and their autonomy in decision-making regarding the home, themselves, and dependents. Hence, a fall in women’s income reduces their agency in such matters.

What are possible solutions?

The first would be to reduce time at work. For serious legislative efforts in this regard though, we must be able to quantify the real value of productivity hits due to tired workers and high worker turnover, as well as the high associated health and family costs. Poor and sparse data on worker productivity and firms, along with few stress-related health indicators included in national health statistics, make this difficult.

Moreover, given the link between working long hours and poverty, particularly in developing countries, reducing overtime may have disastrous effects on workers’ ability to sustain minimum living standards. What is needed is curtailment of long work hours with complementary wage policies.

Finally, is it really fair to either gender to allocate financial responsibility principally to men and housework and childcare to women? As monetary costs to maintain decent standards of living continue to rise in Pakistan, and so long as this gendered division remains entrenched, we will continue to see men spending more hours at work and a lower quality of life for all.

Hadia Majid is assistant professor of economics at Lums. Syeda Warda Riaz is teaching fellow of Economics at Lums.

Published in Dawn, July 1st, 2018