avatarMarcus Tan

Summary

Working hard does not guarantee wealth; instead, working smart by solving complex problems and adding value is key to financial success.

Abstract

The article challenges the traditional belief that hard work alone leads to wealth, using data from various sources to demonstrate that longer working hours do not necessarily correlate with higher economic prosperity. It emphasizes that people are compensated for problem-solving rather than the sheer volume of work done. The article points out that only a small percentage of individuals who work diligently manage to escape poverty, suggesting that hard work is not the sole determinant of financial success. It argues that working smarter, adding value, and focusing on effective problem-solving are more crucial for achieving wealth and personal fulfillment.

Opinions

  • Hard work alone is insufficient for escaping poverty and achieving wealth, as evidenced by the low percentage of people who manage to move up the economic ladder despite consistent work.
  • There is a misconception that the number of hours worked equates to higher productivity and value, whereas, in reality, working longer hours can lead to diminishing returns in output and creativity.
  • The culture of hustling and constantly working is critiqued, with the suggestion that it can lead to exhaustion, a lack of work-life balance, and ultimately, burnout.
  • The article suggests that societal beliefs, such as the American view that hard work inevitably leads to success, may be overemphasized and not reflective of the complex factors that contribute to wealth accumulation.
  • It is proposed that individuals should prioritize strategic thinking and personal development over excessive work hours to enhance their financial and overall well-being.

Stop Working So Hard. It Keeps You Poor

Looking at hard work from a whole new perspective

Photo by Andrea Piacquadio from Pexels

You probably would have heard of the age-old saying work hard so that you reap the fruits of your rewards. This is true to an extent. However, let’s look at just working hard in itself from a completely new perspective.

According to Our World in Data you get to see the correlation between countries like Cambodia working very long hours but having lower GDP per capita compared to Germany which has a much higher GDP per capita but is working much fewer hours.

Source: Our World in Data

What about the hustle culture?

Source: VeeFriends | Gary Vaynerchuk

What about hustling to achieve your goals?

You often see these Instagram and Facebook posts promoting the hustle culture as you scroll through your phone. If you are familiar with Gary Vaynerchuk you will probably be familiar with his motivational message of hustling and just doing the work. Shut out the world, close the door and just hustle at your desk.

These quotes fit perfectly in a caption to get you motivated and bust out your laptop to start working. That’s all well and good, especially for individuals that are often lazy and rely on handouts. However, those are not the individuals we will be focusing on in this article.

According to a study by Urban Institute, only 16% of people that lived half their lives in poverty were able to move up the ladder by their late 20s. These figures are based on people who were consistently working or attending school. So basically, very hardworking people but very few were able to escape poverty.

Source: Urban Institure

The thing about being rich

Think of it like this, if you go out to a desert and start digging random holes in the desert, for 10 hours, are you any wealthier? Simple answer. No.

Have you worked hard? Yes, absolutely you have worked very hard.

Here is what you need to know.

  • People don’t pay you for how hard you work. They pay you to solve a problem.

People who can solve more complex problems can charge more money. This probably sounds pretty obvious, doesn’t it? However, most people, myself included don’t make that connection until we say that out loud to ourselves. Vincent Chan a finance Youtuber provides spot-on information when he shares about adding value to others.

The more value I provide to others, the wealthier I get.

The stereotype of working hard. Is it true?

Surveys conducted by Pews Research Centre showed that Americans are more likely to believe that hard work pays off.

On a scale of 0 to 10, when asked about how important working hard is to getting ahead in life, 73% of Americans said it was a “10” or “very important,” compared with a global median of 50% among the 44 nations.

Source: Pews Research Centre

Reasons Hard Work Won’t Make You Rich

Photo by fauxels from Pexels

Think of yourself. You work hard at work typing away in the office, you go in early and stay late to make sure your boss is happy. After a long day, you go home, sleep for a few hours and then go back to work to make your boss happy. You give up your weekend and free time to get more work done to make your boss happy, and what do you get in return?

You get the same fixed salary. Although your boss may be grateful for all your effort, your boss is not going to give you a raise every month, you need to typically wait for a year to get a pay rise, that most probably does not even keep up with inflation. In the US, the annual inflation rate accelerated to 7.9% in February of 2022, the highest since January 1982.

At half a percentage raise at the end of the year, it might not even be worth sacrificing all that you do.

Here is the downside of working that hard for that long:

  • The more you work the more exhausted you get.
  • You might not have enough time to live outside work.
  • When you keep yourself busy all the time, this keeps you from thinking outside the box, especially if you are constantly stressed out. Your creativity and mental clarity suffer and those 2 things are what you need to solve problems.

Now you may be thinking that if you work longer in the office at least you're more productive at work. Increasing your working hours from 40–60 hours a week does not increase your output by 50% as you would expect since you working an additional 50% of hours, instead, it only increases output by 25%.

Giving all your life to your job in its entirety all the time will make you:

  1. Want to reconsider your life.
  2. Burn out.
  3. Lie flat out on the floor.
Photo by Andrea Piacquadio from Pexels

You may think taking a week out for vacation and coming back to jumpstart this entire hard work cycle is the remedy, but is it?

Now imagine what can you achieve if instead of working all those extra hours at your job, you went home and just lived, or spent time thinking about effective ways to solve problems, start a new business venture or learn to improve yourself.

Photo by Kelvin Valerio from Pexels

Chances are any of this would reward you much more and make you more whole financially, emotionally and physically.

Conclusion

At the end of the day, I’m not saying don't work hard. Hard work is important. However, the mantra that hard work in itself is all that it takes to be successful and wealthy is wrong and harmful.

Just because you stay late in the office doesn't mean you are going to be rich and successful. In conclusion, you need to work smarter to maximise your skills and generate value as much as possible.

Motivation
Work
Money
Success
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