It’s Time to Stop Glorifying Overworking

I am pretty sure we can all agree that we’re ALL on some sort of level of being tired, am I right? And since 2020 at the utmost minimum at that.

Aside from world events, wars/rumors of wars, the political scene, and social/cultural events (Epstein files, anyone?), most of us have awoken from our slumber.

And we’ve realized we’ve been overworking or are being overworked. Additionally, we’re physically, mentally, and emotionally exhausted from everything.

You know what I also don’t get?

The glorification of overworking.

While I’ve seen it decline a little bit, here’s my question: why are we proud of working too much?

Maybe it’s from my personal experience from working in corporate America for so long, but I cannot stand it when someone acts proud for working too much.

Why would you be proud of overworking?

There’s a difference between working smarter, working hard, and overworking.

Let’s talk about this a bit.

GLORIFYING OVERWORKING IS NOT SOMETHING TO BE PROUD OF

Again, maybe it’s mostly a corporate America thing, but I hated, HATED seeing people’s out-of-office messages. They would say something like how they’re on vacation, but could still be contacted and would share their cell number.

Hold up. You already spend all year working and answering emails at all hours of the week (and also on weekends depending on your role). Then during the few times you get to take a break on your company’s dime, you intentionally give people permission to take more of your time?

YOUR time.

Whyyy??? Why would you do that?!

Time is a currency that cannot be exchanged.

At the end of the day, overlooking your sleep/rest, adding to the decline of your health, and losing a lot of time with your loved ones doesn’t make you any better of a person or even wise. It makes you a fool.

I said what I said.

MY EXPERIENCE WITH OVERWORKING

Don’t take this personally (or maybe do take it personally?) because I was once a fool too.

I remember just before 2020, I was praying to get any kind of overtime just so I could make ends meet. Yes, money was what I was after and I’m not ashamed to say it. I was also building/writing this blog, but the growth was so slow as I didn’t have huge chunks of time to dedicate to it.

Then it finally happened.

I ended up with more overtime hours when I transitioned to a new department and I was happy. However, it started off very slow and increased slowly too.

Think the boiling frog effect.

Eventually, I was working 12+ hour days and clocking between 60-70 hours a week (and one time, nearly hit 80 hours) for three years.

I started to gain weight faster and my grey hair came in with a vengeance in 2023. Sadly, my overall health was going in a downward trajectory. I was too wired from working so I was not sleeping the amount of hours I needed. I was definitely not drinking enough water, ate unhealthy food, and skipped the gym a lot.

Eventually, I developed anxiety and would cry before my shift started. And I had terrible cases of the Sunday scaries.

Did I mention I worked from home? Yep.

HOW TO GET OUT OF THE CYCLE

The easiest way to get out of the cycle of overworking is to set strict boundaries not just with others, but yourself.

I personally do not answer emails past 5PM because I do not want to set up any expectations for anyone. The goal is for them to know that they cannot just reach me at all hours of the day. For example, if you’re answering emails at 10PM, you’re letting people know you’re available at 10PM. And trust me, people will take advantage of it.

The second way is to schedule your rest. Whether it be mental break walks, vacations, health appointments, set them! And mark your appointments as BUSY because you will be busy.

The last one is hard: saying no. Laying down boundaries is hard when you’re a people-pleaser, but trust me. That person you’re saying no to will be okay. Besides, when you say no, you’re not only saving yourself time, but the other person’s time. It’s really a gesture of respect for both sides.

The more you say no to things/people who don’t serve you, the more you can say yes to the things you need.

YOU ARE NOT ALONE

Trust me when I say you’re not alone in feeling/being overworked. If you need, check out this Instagram reel about career identity crisis and read the comments on why a lot of people left their jobs due to burn out. It will make you feel a LOT better. I promise.

Please understand that being a workaholic is not a title you want nor should you wear proudly.

You’re NOT meant to work hard, pay the bills, and die.

Life is too short! It’s my prayer you figure out what you really want to do in life and go for it! On top of that, as you gain financial freedom, I wish you an increase of time freedom so you can spend it with your family and friends, traveling the world, and experiencing all life has to offer!

I hope you enjoyed this article and if you did, please chime in and let me know what you think!

How do you feel about the glorification of overworking?