Elon Musk is pulling the hours and pushing the workers - a tad bit too much!
After undertaking the responsibilities of the Department of Government Efficiency, aka, DOGE - Musk had said that he and his team were hard at work to deliver the Trump 2.0 administration with the best and optimal result. While boasting about the same, he had claimed that he and his team at DOGE were working 120 hours a week, saying, “Our bureaucratic opponents optimistically work 40 hours a week. That is why they are losing so fast.”
Let’s look at the facts now.There are 24 hours in one day. There are 7 days in one week.
So, in total - there are 168 hours in a week.
This means, if Musk and his DOGE employees were really working for 120 of those hours, only 48 hours were remaining for them to use for everything else: preparing and eating food, personal hygiene, not to mention free time for hobbies or spending time with their families.
Let’s do some more math.For the sake of (in)sanity, let’s assume that one needs to spend 120 of their 168 hours per week working, so they get to use only the remaining 48 hours for sleep and sleep only. They still wouldn’t come close to a full eight hours per night, which is what many doctors recommend.
With 48 hours of potential sleep spread across seven days, even in the most ideal conditions, the most one could get is 6.8 hours per night.
Now, Musk also called remote work “morally wrong” in 2023, which helps us presume - DOGE workers are not working from home. So, in that case, it’s safe to say DOGE employees working 120-hour weeks would probably not even scratch 6.8 hours of sleep since they’d need time to commute unless they’re squeezing in nap breaks during the day.
Is this ‘hustle’ healthy?
To put things in perspective, sleep isn’t a luxury that one can choose to afford or not; sleep is vital for the body to function properly.
As per the Mayo Clinic, getting less than seven hours of sleep a night on a regular basis for adults “has been linked with poor health, including weight gain, having a body mass index of 30 or higher, diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke, and depression.”
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), getting less than seven hours of sleep regularly “can lead to serious health problems.”
Here’s a more detailed explanation:Although Musk’s reasoning for pushing his workers to this stretch lies in making employees more effective by simply having them log more hours - it may not yield the expected good results after all.
A 2014 study from Stanford University found productivity per hour has a sharp drop-off when a person works more than 50 hours a week, and “output at 70 hours differs little from output at 56 hours,” meaning your efficacy has diminishing returns above a certain threshold. Perhaps relatedly, Musk recently said he’s juggling his responsibilities with DOGE, Tesla, and his other private companies like SpaceX and xAI “with great difficulty.”
Working 55 hours a week or more seems to have equal ramifications for both productivity and well-being:
According to 2021 data from the World Health Organization, 745,000 people died in 2016 from either stroke or heart disease “as a result of having worked at least 55 hours a week.” That same study said working more than 55 hours a week gives you a 35% higher risk of stroke and a 17% higher risk of dying from heart disease compared to a traditional 35- to 40-hour week.
“Working 55 hours or more per week is a serious health hazard,” Dr. Maria Neira, who has served as the WHO’s director of the Department of Public Health and Environment since 2005, said in a statement.
What is sleep deprivation?
Sleep deprivation is a condition that occurs when you don't get enough sleep, either in duration or quality, which can negatively impact your physical and mental health.
Here's a more detailed explanation:What it is: Sleep deprivation refers to the state of not having adequate sleep to support alertness, performance, and overall health.
Causes: It can be caused by various factors, including lifestyle choices, work demands, environmental factors, sleep disorders, and other medical conditions.
Side-effects:
Sleep deprivation leads to various side effects, impacting physical and mental health, including fatigue, impaired cognitive function, mood changes, and increased risk of chronic diseases.
Physical Health Impacts:Fatigue and Reduced Energy: Sleep deprivation causes extreme fatigue, making it difficult to perform daily tasks.
Weakened Immune System: Insufficient sleep can impair the immune system, making you more susceptible to infections and illnesses.
Increased Risk of Chronic Diseases: Long-term sleep deprivation is linked to an increased risk of obesity, diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, and stroke.
Weight Gain: Sleep deprivation can disrupt hormones that regulate appetite and metabolism, leading to weight gain.
Cardiovascular Problems: Lack of sleep can negatively impact heart health, potentially increasing the risk of heart disease and stroke.
Hormonal Imbalances: Sleep deprivation can disrupt hormone production, including those related to stress, metabolism, and growth.
Metabolic Issues: Sleep loss can lead to insulin resistance, a precursor to type 2 diabetes.
Mental Health Impacts:Cognitive Impairment: Sleep deprivation can impair cognitive functions like memory, attention, concentration, and decision-making.
Mood Changes: It can lead to irritability, anxiety, depression, and difficulty regulating emotions.
Psychosis: In severe cases, prolonged sleep deprivation can even lead to psychosis, characterized by changes in perception of reality, disorganized thoughts, and hallucinations.
Increased Risk of Mental Disorders: Chronic sleep problems can increase the risk of developing mood disorders like depression and anxiety.
Reduced Motivation: Sleep deprivation can lead to a lack of motivation and decreased interest in activities.
Poor Judgment: Sleep-deprived individuals may make poor decisions and have difficulty thinking clearly.
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