Preity Zinta, currently promoting her upcoming film Vibe, recently spoke about working long hours to wrap up shooting early and return to the US to spend time with her children. Revealing her work philosophy during the trailer launch event, the actor said: “Every day we had very long shoots. So, each to his own and of course, the reason I was working 18 hours is that I wanted to finish my work as soon as I could and then come back to America to be with my kids.”

“My whole focus was, ‘ It’s okay, I will come; I will finish it. As long as my work gets over quickly. So my whole thing was, ‘I don’t mind doing this.’ Because I’m coming to India. And I’m here for 30-40 days. Every single day I went and came back from the shoot. I didn’t even go out a single evening,” she further added.

How do working long hours impact the body?

Regardless of the motivation, Gurleen Baruah, organisational psychologist at That Culture Thing, says that very long work hours slowly exhaust the system. “When the brain doesn’t get time to reset, focus drops and mistakes increase. Decision-making becomes rushed or rigid because the mind is tired, not sharp,” she tells indianexpress.com.

Baruah elaborates that emotionally speaking, people become more irritable, numb, or reactive because there’s no space to process stress. Over time, Baruah mentions that this can affect relationships at work and at home. “What starts as ‘working more to get things done’ often becomes counter-productive. Burnout, poor judgement, and emotional fatigue follow, and performance actually goes down, not up,” she explains, adding: “Humans are not machines, and even machines need charging.”

 

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Prioritise rest and recharge

Baruah says breaks are not about scrolling on your phone though — they are about real rest. “Eating on time, stepping away, talking to a loved one, being in nature, or even doing nothing helps the nervous system reset,” she stresses.

“Without breaks, the body stays in survival mode. When the system is rested, attention improves, thinking becomes clearer, and work feels lighter. Rest refreshes the brain, which is what actually improves productivity and creativity,” says Baruah.

According to her, it starts with accepting that overwork cannot be the default.

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Baruah reiterates that work hours need to be clear and realistic, not flexible only on paper. “From the individual side, boundaries work when people communicate openly – what they can manage and where they need limits,” she believes. And from the workplace side, leaders set the tone.

“When rest and downtime are respected, employees don’t feel guilty for logging off. A healthy culture is one where people can work well, rest properly, and still feel valued, not pressured to constantly prove themselves,” concludes Baruah.