Home
>
Time Management
>
Painful Cost of Working Yourself to Death

Painful Cost of Working Yourself to Death

We all know the harmful effects of overwork. People get tired and irritable. Without enough hours in the day to do everything that needs to be done -- much less the things we want to do -- life is stressful and unpleasant. Exhaustion and stress can and do lead to illness and lowered resistance to disease. People feel cheated and abused, and they get angry. All too often, the anger is expressed in an aggressive, violent or self-destructive way.

Highly linear forms of behaviour ? too much eating, too little sleep, too much hostility, too little physical activity, too little sleep, too much continuous stress ? lead to higher incidence of illness and even death.

Tired and stressed workers will do nothing to improve productivity and economic growth. WORKING long hours is damaging families and the health of employees.

All this takes its inevitable toll on personal relationships. Families break up at an increasing rate, friendships are strained, and the pain is compounded by the guilt and anxiety felt over failed relationships.

The average American today spends 1,949 hours at his or her job. This is 163 hours more than in 1969 -- 163 hours equals nearly a whole month of added work in a year.

Naturally, more work time means less leisure time. A recent survey indicated an average of only 16 to 17 hours per week of leisure time after job and household responsibilities. The leisure time people do have often can't be fully taken advantage of because they're too tired for the activities they'd otherwise choose to do. Many of us don't have the energy for much more than flopping down in front of the TV.

It is common for the American worker to be compared to a long distance runner. The symptoms show up like an athlete who has over trained, by pushing themselves relentlessly with very limited recovery.

The biggest problem in American business today is the feeling that nothing is ever finished. There is no satisfaction to be derived from a job well done because there is always another demand to be met. We're all running on the endless treadmill. As adults we must realize the need for rest and recovery.

As best selling authors, Jim Loehr and Tony Schwartz demonstrate in their groundbreaking book, Power of Full Engagement, managing energy, not time, is the key to enduring high performance as well as to health, happiness and life balance.

They stress that we are wired up, but we are melting down. It is not the intensity of energy expenditure that produces burnout, impaired performance and physical breakdown, but rather the duration of expenditure without recovery.

At a very young age when children should be playing, they are taught that to get anywhere in life or to be somebody, one must get a job and work really hard. Most of us can remember a family member or perhaps someone we looked up to and valued their input, telling us those very same words.

It is difficult as adults to continually keep fighting the internal battles in our minds that say, you need to stop and relax while the other side keeps you charging forward into working harder and longer to be successful and pay your bills.

Play is extremely important for humans from birth to death. Play is not meant to be just for children. It is a form of release and enables your body and mind to restore and engage in recovery time.

Play is a state of mind, but it is also a state of body, emotion, and spirit. Yes...it is something you do (playing games, swinging, playing "tag", playing with dolls), but it is also something you watch others do, and gain pleasure from simply watching.

It is often described as a time when we feel most alive, yet it is something we take for granted and may forget to do. It can be entirely positive, or can be dramatic (such as acting out a thrilling or suspenseful activity). Play can be used in many ways to not only stimulate creativity but as a way to transform negative emotions. We are hardwired as adults to engage in play, and it is crucial to our vitality to spend time with play each day.

The wonderful thing about playing is that everyone is successful at it. Don't use playtime to test or stretch your workday. It is a time to feel good about yourself and each other--and to just have fun together. Perhaps, most important of all, play is fun. Years later, when we recall our life, it is the happy times spent playing with special people that we remember most fondly. Stop working so hard. Play some today and everyday.

Marianne St. Clair creates energy. Her creativity and vital messages have thrilled audiences for years. Corporations and organizations nationwide seek her out to motivate and energize their employees on such topics as creativity, communication, passion and fun.

Marianne fuses her knowledge of creativity, wellness and her experience with coaching clients in both the corporate world as well as individuals to create presentations that make a difference. Marianne makes audiences laugh, but she also makes them think. Participants discover for themselves how to apply her messages to become better people and better employees.

Website: http://www.mariannestclair.com
Email:marianne@mariannestclair.com
704-658-0353

disinfecting cleaning services Winnetka ..

In The News:

Medical history made as surgeons successfully restore sight to legally blind patient using world's first 3D printed corneal implant grown from human cells.

Data brokers aggressively collect your holiday shopping data to fuel scams and targeted ads. Learn how to delete your digital profile before 2025 starts.

Scammers are sending fake MetaMask wallet verification emails using official branding to steal crypto information through phishing links and fraudulent domains.

Learn what background permissions, push notifications, security updates, auto-join networks and app refresh mean to better manage your phone's privacy settings.

Criminals test stolen data by applying for deposit accounts in victims' names to prepare bigger attacks. Learn why banks won't share fraud details.

New study of 10,500+ kids reveals early smartphone ownership linked to depression, obesity, and poor sleep by age 12. Earlier phones mean higher risks.

A phone phishing attack compromised Harvard's alumni and donor database, marking the second security incident at the university in recent months.

AutoFlight's zero-carbon floating vertiport uses solar power to charge eVTOL aircraft while supporting emergency response, tourism, and marine energy maintenance.

A new phone return scam targets recent buyers with fake carrier calls. Learn how criminals steal devices and steps to protect yourself from this fraud.

New Anthropic research reveals how AI reward hacking leads to dangerous behaviors, including models giving harmful advice like drinking bleach to users seeking help.

The Fox News AI Newsletter gives readers the latest AI technology advancements, covering the challenges and opportunities AI presents.

Holiday email scams, including non-delivery fraud and gift card schemes, spike in November and December, costing victims hundreds of millions, the FBI says.

Holiday visits offer the perfect opportunity to help older parents with technology updates, scam protection and basic troubleshooting skills for safer digital experiences.

Swiss scientists create grain-sized robot that surgeons control with magnets to deliver medicine precisely through blood vessels in medical breakthrough.

Researchers exploited WhatsApp's API vulnerability to scrape 3.5 billion phone numbers. Learn how this massive data breach happened and protect yourself.

Travel companies share passenger data with third parties during holidays, but travelers can protect themselves by removing data from broker sites and using aliases.

Xpeng's humanoid robot moves so realistically that crowds believed it was fake, marking a major advancement in robotics technology ahead of 2026 commercial launch.

Researchers discover phishing scam using invisible characters to evade email security, with protection tips including password managers and two-factor authentication.

iPhone and Android users can reduce battery drain and data usage by restricting Background App Refresh to Wi-Fi connections instead of mobile networks.

Scammers nearly stole an Apple account by exploiting the support system with authentic-looking tickets and phone calls, users can protect themselves with safety steps.

FoloToy restored sales of its AI teddy bear Kumma after a weeklong suspension following safety group findings of risky and inappropriate responses to children.

Threat intelligence firm Synthient uncovers one of the largest password exposures ever, prompting immediate security recommendations.

Viral video shared by Elon Musk shows Tesla's Optimus humanoid robots performing tasks from cooking to construction, garnering over 58.5 million views on social media.

Chinese hackers used Anthropic's Claude AI to launch autonomous cyberattacks on 30 organizations worldwide, marking a major shift in cybersecurity threats.

Apple's new Sleep Score feature gives you a rating for your nightly rest quality. Learn how to set it up on your Apple Watch and iPhone today.

Painful Cost of Working Yourself to Death

Time Management