Something I was thinking about the other day was the concept of Work-Life Balance. As I start to notice that myself and others work 10 – 12 hour workdays, I realized that there is a point where you have to really evaluate your situation before it becomes too late. And when I say it becomes too late, there are consequences to working 60+ hours a week. Most people have common sense to not push themselves that hard, but there are many, like myself who throw themselves into work for a variety of reasons. Maybe it is as a sense of escapism to get away from the pressures of non-work (that is my issue). Maybe it is a drive to be successful, to really push for that promotion, and be the shiny star at work. Maybe it is boredom, if you are not working, then what else would you be doing. Or maybe it is an inability to say no, and you find yourself getting more and more projects (this is also one of my issues). Whatever it may be, and whatever the reasons, there is a very negative impact on the person who is working 60+ hours and the people around them.
I have noticed that when I work those longer hours, I myself become more prone to getting sick, and when I do I get hit hard. Where the normal person probably can get over a cold in a few days, it can take a week for me to get better. Sickness and illness seem to come hand-in-hand with the increased workload and stress that comes with it. Over time it strips your immune system and when you get a cold, where a normal person can fight it off, you just succumb to it. It is like your body is making you rest by getting you sick. And sick time is the worst way to use your Paid Time Off (PTO).
Another one is friendships and relationships. I have found as my workload fluctuates, my quality of friendships fluctuates too. We start to make decisions on what we can and cannot do. And sometimes the friends or significant other takes a backseat to work. This is not fair to them, and certainly not to you. The worst case scenario is that because you are so absent from your friends they start to drift away, and they call or email less, because you either don’t reply in a timely manner or at all. In the case of the significant other you start to have fights or arguments and as with friends they too start to drift away or prepare themselves to end the relationship. Either way, if you work too hard, you risk losing your friends and your significant other.
So what is the solution? I think the solution is different for everyone, but one suggestion is to evaluate your current situation and decide what you can do to make it better. A second suggestion is communication, not just with your friends and significant other, but with your boss as well. You need to make time for them, as well as for yourself. A third suggestion, is learning how to manage expectations for everyone. If you have to really work, then if you communicate often and in timely, these types of situations will at least be less impactful if you are managing everyones expectations. In the end, I think the key is communication and sometimes learning to say no. Ultimately this is still a personal choice, but if unchecked, you could end up losing a lot.
On that note, I have to get ready to go into the office today.
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