A Working Title
Our culture’s obsession with work
A while ago, I was chatting with a friend about college. It was mostly complaining: both of us were swamped with work, and neither had the motivation to actually do any of it. The conversation was like dozens of others I had; it was the usual bantering mixed with grumbling about grades and whatnot, but one text message stuck in my mind. Our professor had refused to take the assignment submissions over the weekend because then the TAs would have to work on a Sunday, something he didn’t want them to do. I told this to my friend, who had a penchant for bunking classes. He was furious because this meant he couldn’t go to a friend’s party; he conveyed this anger by spamming me with memes about the course’s ridiculous workload. He finally said, ‘Man, TAs are being paid and still coddled like this. Why does he not care about the students as much as he does about them?’
Now my professor’s motivations were less to do with any angelic concern over the TAs’ well-being and more with abiding by the rules imposed by the Academic Office, but it led me to think about just how extremely work-oriented the ‘work-life balance’ is. In this case, our professor’s refusal to have Sunday submission meant we had to work all day on Saturday to finish both the tasks he wanted. It was hellish; I got it done just 2 minutes before the deadline because he wanted not just the program file, but also two handwritten pages explaining each and every single line, the code highlighted into several sections and a screenshot to make sure there was no cheating, all in a single pdf. Afterwards, we had a viva on what we had coded. This whole drama was for a half-semester course worth a measly 3 credits out of my total of 42. What’s more is that this will be a weekly thing for the next month or so; I’m already beginning to dread it.
Of course, college isn’t the only place where one has to work themselves to the bone just to keep up. The very economy demands that one work almost superhumanly hard to rise up the class ladder. Take this post on Reddit:
This sort of board would be funny if it wasn’t serious: the owner genuinely thinks $15-an-hour pay is high enough to warrant such demands. Even the arts aren’t spared: webtoon artists have to pump out upwards of 60 panels per week, with some going to even 200 panels in a single episode. I’ve heard tales of people working upwards of 90 hours a week just to reach deadlines. This isn’t a work-life balance; it’s purely work, work, work.
Our culture feeds it into us that this constant continuous never-ending grinding is good. We are told to ‘Hustle harder!’ and to ‘Improve your grind!’ There is an endless supply of rags-to-riches stories, thousands of efficiency-improvement manuals, videos and books and podcasts all telling you what could be in reach if only you pushed yourself that extra mile, that extra inch, that extra lightyear. But the thing is, the human spirit is not capable of sustaining this sort of crushing pressure for long. Slowly but surely, like the way a single puff of wind brings down even the most majestic house of cards, it will break. The result is burnout, a state of mental and physical exhaustion to the point where life itself doesn’t provide joy anymore.
Burnout is characterized by a loss of drive, as well as feelings of hopelessness and self-doubt. It is tiredness beyond tiredness, a weary feeling clinging to you like glue, refusing to wash off. The more you try to hustle your way out of it, the worse it gets. It can end up severely impacting your social, mental, and physical health. In extreme cases, it can even mean that you no longer can do the job you were previously able to, perhaps even resulting in a layoff.
What’s worse is that it gets more common every year: as work-home boundaries blur and inflation makes money worth less as time passes, stress levels increase. More people than ever are reporting high-stress levels in occupational environments. An October 2020 poll by Mental Health UK found that nearly 1 in 4 working women felt unable to manage the pressure at work. Only 44% were confident that their employer had a plan to prevent burnout. We cannot afford to allow this trend to continue for the sake of all of our sanity.
So what can we do about it, then? Here are a few tips:
- Plan your budget. Money tends to be one of the main reasons people overwork themselves, especially artists and freelancers working on commission. Having a rainy-day fund and a savings account for the future could reduce some of this stress. Debt counseling is also a good idea for those who have any big loans to pay off.
- Set time boundaries when working from home. Work only the number of hours you get paid for. Set strict time limits for your job, and don’t forget to include breaks. Ensure that you aren’t doing anything work-related in your own free time.
- Talk to friends. Burnout is only exacerbated by loneliness. Having just one person to talk to significantly reduces the mental burden of stress. Join online communities in case you aren’t able to meet up with friends.
- Demand that your employer have a burnout plan in place. Bring it up with your boss. Burnout isn’t something that magically manifests out of nowhere; it’s a byproduct of toxic employer-employee relationships. It only makes sense for the employer to have some responsibility in dealing with it.
- Take care of yourself. Have your meals on time. Drink water. Go out for a walk. Do something you genuinely enjoy every day. Make time for friends and family. Take part in life outside a 9-to-5 job.
Burnout is one of the most unseen issues in society today, mainly due to the stigma surrounding it caused by the glorification of hard work to unhealthy levels. A true solution is a larger societal change; nevertheless, one must learn how to deal with it in these less-than-perfect times for one’s own health. If you continue to hustle harder without a break, eventually, you won’t have any hustle left.
