To start this off, I just want to say that if you are that friend that falls into this category, I salute you. Having a job that takes up the majority of your time is both rewarding and tiring - to the friends who we love and don't see as much anymore, keep reading.
We are not avoiding you.
Some tend to think that because we always say no to going out with you, means that we are avoiding you. That is not the case at all. We are working 30+ hours a week and those days off that we have, if we even have days off, are times that we want to spend to ourselves - sleeping in and just having some quality time alone.
You can call it selfish, or rude, or whatever you want - but hey, it's the truth. I work in customer service at a zoo (as in I deal with people every day for hours on end). Sometimes, all I want to do on my days off is just sit in my room and avoid everyone like they have the plague. It has nothing to do with you.
We try, and try, and try to stay in contact - to send a text message, call, or send a snap - but even that can be all too much for us. The idea of just being on our phone can make us sick. Avoiding that blue light entirely makes us all that more happy.
It's not that we are avoiding you, we just need time to recharge. We need to prepare ourselves for the next work week, destress from the long day, or even just sleep the day off entirely. Working friends sacrifice a lot for their job - and no, it is not selfish.
Us working friends are working to pay for college, get that new car, or simply pay their rent. We are making money to live.
So when we finally get that break, when we finally are ready to be social and enjoy time with friends and family - cherish it. Don't belittle us for being distant, or complain that we don't hang out anymore, we are working to live and be able to move forward in the future - so please, enjoy the time you have with us.
From, a working friend.
