Are you overworked, yet happy at work? If so, you’re not alone. Staples Advantage, the business-to-business division of Staples, released a new survey today that shows that Americans are both overworked and happy. Confused?
Fifty-three percent of Americans feel overwhelmed at work, but 86 percent are still happy and motivated. Why are those numbers not compatible? It seems that working hard can help towards happiness. Too much free time can make you bored and unmotivated. Have you ever had a job where you had too little to do? It’s incredibly tedious to have to sit at a desk with nothing to do, pretending to be busy. When you’re overworked, you have a lot going on all the time, and you’re constantly engaged.
But don’t take that to mean that overworking your employees can make them happier. Burnout still happens, and too much work can lead to that. Here is what else is going on in the American work force:
To keep reading click here: Americans Are Overworked, but Still Surprisingly Happy on the Job
I really think it’s important for Managers to support and encourage work-life balances. As much as I enjoy my job, I can’t say I live for it, and it is not the most important thing in my life. I have kids, husband, home, garden, hobbies, etc. that I would like to spend time with. These are the things that (hopefully) will still be here decades from now, whereas this job won’t be.
I find that if I have 8, very full and busy, overworked, crazy, non-stop, head-down-butt-up, taking on more work than one person should sanely do, hours in the office, I am never as burned out as I am doing the same amount of work in that 8 hour day that spills into 2 hours of overtime! I do what I can in the best and most efficient way possible today, and that’s all I can do. Then I can go home and rest, create, cook, play, etc. and be geared up and ready to work tomorrow.
We all need that balance. However, I’ve really noticed that line become blurred once technology became so convenient. It is too easy sometimes to receive an email or text or phone call after hours about something that can probably wait until tomorrow. An old Manager would always try to contact me during holidays, after hours, and on weekends. Her famous line would be “I know I’m bugging you on your day off, but you can clock your time…” I did not want to ‘train’ her to think this was okay and acceptable. So after it happened a few times, and we had family visiting and were in the middle of a big family dinner, I told her that giving up my family time was not worth the pay I would be getting from ‘clocking my time’ so I would talk to her at the office on Monday about it. She actually apologized and stopped contacting me during my home time. My boss may ‘own’ me during my 8 hours/day, 40 hours/week at work, but when my day is done, my time is all mine:)