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How many hours does a hard-worker work to be called a hard-worker and still keep a balanced life?

Some people say a hard-worker has to work 12-14 hours per day to be called a hard-worker. Others link that to the amount of achievements. So, is there a definition for a hard-worker who works hard and still is able to keep his/her life balanced?

Public Comments

1. It's just a matter of opinion, you can work only 8 hours a day, but if you use your time well and work smart you can still be called a hard worker, or maybe you work 12 hours a day but you don't use that time well - then you are not a hard worker.
2. Well, my church leaders tell me I should not work more than 50 hours a week. That is where I draw the line. Legally, a person cannot work more than 40 hours a week without getting paid overtime.
3. Hard-working AND keeping life balanced is possible if you are wealthy enough (to pay for borring tasks at home and at work) and you work because of pleasure. So this "title" is not measured by the hours in the day but with the commitement of the mind. Such person actually works 24 hours a day. An example: Nikola Tesla.
4. "Hard worker" is a label used by employers as both an inexpensive carrot and a threat/stick in their attempts to coerce their employees to put the company's interests before their own. Though loyalty should be valued by a good company, it is not unusual for it to be neither valued nor reciprocated: in other words, the hard worker may not receive any benefit in the long term from his hard work. Having said that, anybody who is a real hard worker should be thinking of refocusing some of that effort - maybe 10-20 hours a week - into building himself or herself an independent income, so that if the company does decide to dispense with their services, they have something to tide them over. With care and attention, they may even find at some point that they wish to leave their current employment of their own accord to go full time in their chosen activity. This, in my opinion, is a much better way to go if you are indeed a hard worker. If you read business forums and attend business growth training seminars, as I do, you will find that loyalty is not regarded as being a particularly useful trait in employers, though it is to be encouraged in employees, for obvious reasons. Much effort is put into gaining the loyalty of high flyers within the workforce, but even they may be dispensed with if/when their services are no longer profitable, without guilt (which is not a common corporate emotion). Your life balance is more important than any label.
5. I think that hard work is defined by the quality of the work more so than the quantity of the work. For example, someone can sit and say, watch a building for 12 hours. Or someone can run around a building for 4 hours. Who has worked harder? In my opinion the person using more physical exertion by running.