Ambitious employees receive a lot of advice on how to get ahead early in their careers. A common tip is to be one of the first to arrive at the office and the last to leave to show your boss that you are committed to the work.

Brianna Doe used to feel the same way. When the marketing expert started her career about ten years ago, she often came to the office early and worked long hours “to show that I have the necessary drive and motivation and that I want to develop further within the company.”

Doe was keen to show her manager and people outside her department that she could “excel,” and she felt that “a great way to do that is to be the first to show up and the last to leave,” Doe tells CNBC Make It.

However, “I also experienced intense burnout phases because of it.”

Looking back, Doe realizes that the well-intentioned advice often comes with the caveat that long hours are a sign of dedication to work, at the expense of one’s own time and personal life.

“I had no work-life harmony in my life,” says Doe, who now runs her own marketing agency, Verbatim. Today, she says, “I think that’s an outdated mindset, especially now that we’ve entered this new era of setting boundaries and prioritizing mental health.”

Stacie Haller, chief career counselor at ResumeBuilder with over 30 years of recruiting experience, agrees.

“I think people are smart enough these days to know that just because you sit in an office eight hours a day doesn’t necessarily make you a productive employee,” she says.

A better way to move forward

Instead, there are numerous other ways to use your time to show that you are enthusiastic about your job and want to develop further.

“Build relationships, find a mentor, get to know a team,” advises Haller. “Observe successful people, see how they work and act, and ask for advice.”

Generation Z workers in particular are in a good position to prioritize building work relationships that can serve them well in the years to come, Haller says: “That’s what you should be doing in the office. Don’t focus on getting there early and staying late just to pretend you’re a hard-working person. That won’t get you anywhere.”

That message also needs to come from the top. Doe believes bosses should rethink their expectations if they focus on the amount of time an employee spends at their desk rather than on what they achieve or how they express their ambition.

“If your new hire is doing a great job and asks you for more opportunities and wants to work on other projects, that should say more than someone who just stays longer than you,” she says.

Apart from that, Haller adds that it is important to align with the team regarding working hours and departure from the workplace.

Stick to the culture: Be punctual, don’t be late, don’t miss meetings and “don’t have any lame excuses,” advises Haller.

She concludes, “If everyone is there from 8:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., then be there from 8:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. But if you show up at 7:00 p.m. just to prove something to no one but yourself, that’s a little crazy.”

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