Finding a healthy balance between work and personal life is a goal many companies strive to achieve. They do this by offering flexible schedules, a comprehensive benefit plan and a competitive pay structure. At the same time, employees in the U.S. are working more than they ever have. According to a report released by Gallup, a worker in the United States spends an average of 46.7 hours on the job each week. Only 40% of people said they actually worked the (supposedly) standard 40-hour week.
So when did working to live turn into living to work?
Over time, job expectations increase. As companies grow and take on more business, they expect their employees to take on more responsibilities. As a 23-year-old active in the workforce, I have learned to never say “no” when it comes to taking on more responsibility. If your boss trusts you with more important work, you want to prove that you can handle that added accountability.
The problem lies in the fact that over time, this attitude remains unchanged. We continue to take on more and more responsibility until we’re working 50 – even 60-hour weeks. We as employees need to realize that while it’s important (and necessary) to work hard, the entire point of working is to make a living.
We’ve all heard the saying, “never get so busy making a living that you forget to make a life.” But this is exactly what we’re doing. We spend countless hours sitting at a desk, working overtime and hoarding vacation days in order to make more money. Think about it: our jobs consume the majority of our lives and we’re afraid to leave our email unattended for a day or two. We might be making a living but our life is summed up in the hours spent on the job.
We need to stop giving into the idea that 50 or 60-hour weeks is the standard of life nowadays. It doesn’t take a single person, it takes a society. Work hard from the moment you step inside the office so that when the day is done, you can shift focus to more important aspects of life. Whether it’s spending more time with your family, visiting with friends or simply enjoying a hobby – there’s more to life than time clocks and paychecks.
When all is said and done, are you going to remember that paid time-off pay out or the trip you took with your family?
