AS far as work hours are concerned, 10 is the new eight. And if you really want to distinguish yourself, better aim for a good 12 hours in the office every day.

The new high road to the corner office doesn't run through progressive ladder-climbing and years of company loyalty. It runs through being available to your customers 24X7 (which, incidentally, are sprinkled across an increasing number of time zones), and a willingness to 'marry the job'.

So what is lengthening our days in office? The list of answers no doubt includes the usual suspects, evil corporations and global competition, but the issue also forces us to ask: have our lives fundamentally shifted towards an office-centric lifestyle?

A study published in the Harvard Business Review by authors Sylvia Ann Hewlett and Carolyn Buck Luce, The Dangerous Allure of the 70-Hour Workweek , came to the startling conclusion that a large part of this shift is coming from blue-collar professionals themselves.

Individuals who have discovered their niche and are highly invested in their career, or those who are aiming for a quick route to the rich and famous lifestyle, embrace the idea of work days which never come to an end. The sheer love of the profession translates into a willingness to spend upward of 70 hours a week at work. And the prestige, money and power that come with it don't hurt, I guess.

But Hewlett and Luce are talking about what can be called the Delta Force of the corporate world, the highly paid, highly ambitious jetsetters. But Gallup's last survey estimated that only about 30 per cent of the workforce is actively engaged in their jobs.

So what is keeping the rest of us sitting at our desks so late? There is also some buzz around the fact that lengthening work hours are far more evident in India, compared to some Western nations.

Illustration: Vaibhav Shirke

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e-mail: Astha Parmar

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