Would you rather work a 10-hour shift or a 4-hour shift? At first, it might seem nice to take the shorter shift but then think of all of the lost time spent getting ready for work, getting there, getting back, and decompressing. By the end of the day, your 4 hours is looking more like 6 and at that point, your entire day is lost. So when we're faced with the choice to lose a full day of our lives to our jobs, wouldn't you rather be paid a little overtime?