K.Anders Ericsson,a professor of psychology at Florida State University,conducted a study in Berlin and found that the amount of time successful musicians spent practicing each day was surprisingly low-a mere 90 minutesper day.In fact,the most successful musicians not only practiced less,but also took more naps throughout the day and indulged in breaks during practice when they grew tired or stressed.It has long been known that working too much leads to life-shortening stress.It also leads to disengagement at work,as focus simply cannot be sustained for muchmore than 50 hours a week.Even Henry Ford knew the problem wvith overwork when he cut his employees' schedules from 48-hour weeks to 40-hour weeks. He believed that working more than 40 hours a week had been causing his employees to make many errors,as he recounted in his autobiography,My Life and Work.
What if we viewed leisure time not as slacking,but as necessary time for reflecting"of course, some low-income workers are forced to work long hours or multiple jobs just to make ends meet. But why do many other employees-including those who are incredibly well compensated——still overwork themselves even when they often don't have to?
Alexandra Michel,a University of Pennsylvania professor,found that at two well-known investment banks employees were working an average of 120-hour weeks (as in,17 hours a day,every day).This led workers,as Michel writes,to not only "neglect family and health," but also to work long hours even when their bosses did not force them to-and when they knew that working that 16th and 17th hour a day wouldn't make them any more productive. Michel concluded that hardworking individuals put in long hours not for "rewards, punishments,or obligation."Rather,they do so "because they cannot conceive otherwise even when it does not make sense to do so."
It seems silly that many work long hours simply for the sake of having worked long hours.Perhaps the reason people overwork even when it is not for "reward,punishment,or obligation" is that it holds great social prestige.Busyness implies hard work,which implies good character,a strong education,and either present or future wealth.The phrase,"I can't; I'm busy," sends a signal that you're not just an homme serieux (serious man),but an important one at that.There is also a belief in many countries,the United States especially, that work is an inherently noble pursuit.Many feel lost without the driving structure of work in their life-even if that structure is neither proportionally profitable nor healthy in a physical or psychological sense.
Everyone would likely agree with Aristotle that "we work to have leisure,on which happiness depends."The motivation for employees to work hard is the carrot of a relaxing retirement.Yet this cause-and-effect often gets flipped（本末倒置），and we fit our lives into our work,rather than fitting our work into our lives.The widespread belief that happiness and life satisfaction can be found exclusively through hard work is at heart more a management myth meant to motivate workers than a philosophical statement. In his 1932 essay “In Praise of Idleness,"the British philosopher Bertrand Russell corrects this idea,writing,“A great deal of harm is being done in the modem world by belief in the virtuousness（德行）of work.＂ Rather,"the road to happiness and prosperity lies in an organized reduction of work."
That is to say happiness is ultimately not found in late nights spent at work, but in finding a way to work less, even if that means buying fewer things or readjusting your perspective. After all, having free time doesn't necesarily suggest moral shortcomings.
What does Alexandra Michel aim to illustrate by using the example of investment banks?
A.Overworking has become some people's lifestyle.
B.People with higher income do not need to overwork.
C.Overwork damages both family relationships and health.
D.Hardworking people are motivated by a sense of responsibility.
正确答案是A