No days off. Hustle hard. That’s the grind. Push it to the limit. I’m sure you’ve heard these sayings before.
Work until you can’t no more. That’s what society tells us to do day in and day out. Making us believe that working like a pack-mule is what’s going to make us rich… or at least financially stable. But is that really the best way to be efficient?
The Reality
Our community is deeply over-stressed, overworked, and overwhelmed. I know people that work about 15 hours a DAY! When there’s only 24 hours in a day, when are you supposed to sleep with that kind of schedule?! This could be why anxiety and depression are markedly higher now than they were in earlier eras. People simply don’t have the time or ability to wind down.
When the cost of living is higher than the cost of labor, there is a problem.
Some people have to work 13 jobs just to stay afloat and afford the bare minimum. There’s something wrong with a system that burns out over half of the population just to stay up and running.
“Americans aren’t even guaranteed vacation time off of work. After working with a company for 5 years, we get an average of 15 days off. In countries like Austria and France, governments require that workers are given paid time off (PTO). Austrians enjoy 13 paid public holidays and 25 days of paid annual leave” (CNBC).
My Experience
My job tries to work me like a slave every week. I work in a high-stress environment that’s not built for everyone: sales. Every week they encourage (more like pressure) us to come in to work on our days off. However, because I value my work-life balance, I decline almost every time. I need that time to relax my overly stressed brain. I can tell that they’re not happy about it and would rather work me until I fall out.
What’s ironic about my company, which stresses the value of working all day everyday, is that it’s a vacation company! They encourage us to remind our customers about the importance of taking time away from their busy schedules to getaway and relax, yet they encourage us to work like robots. What they don’t understand is…
The Importance of Balance
Tired people don’t perform well. While researching the benefits of having a good work life balance, I found that you actually perform a lot more efficiently when you take time to recuperate and rest. Even machines have a cool down period so, we should give ourselves one too. Take an hour a day, or a day per week, to find your inner peace, and recharge.
Proper balance will improve your mental health. During one of his sermons, Pastor Tye Tribbett mentioned that mental illness, depression, and stress all stem from a lack of balance in your life.
The US National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health backs this up with studies that prove that physical or mental imbalance caused by harmful stimuli can induce stress and affect mental health.
Don’t work so hard to make a living, that you don’t have time to live.
Dolly Parton
So, stop overdoing it.
I get that you have bills to pay, and working overtime is sometimes necessary. But just remember to take a day or two to relax and reset your mind, body, and soul.
Remember what you’re working for and take time to enjoy the blessings you’ve earned. Don’t look back on your life and regret that you haven’t given yourself the chance to truly live!
Peace.
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