Overworked: the new normal

While my cousin was in town, we had some great talks and one thing really stood out for me. He said the day is 24 hours long and it is meant to be evenly divided into 3. The proper breakdown being 8 hours for sleep, 8 hours for work and 8 hours for leisure. I don’t think anyone would complain with that. In fact, we once had that. But then we threw it all away. Why?

In order of significance, I suggest these 3 reasons: technology, competition and greed.

First, technology. If you’ve ever read my writing before, you’ll know that I have a love-hate relationship with this ever-evolving force. More hate than love actually…but then I realize I don’t have the forearms to churn my own butter and calm down. Someday I will…someday! What was I saying? Oh yeah, technology that old four-letter word. Well it changed everything; including the way we work.

The internet has made a mockery of office hours. Because the office is no longer a place. Its a state of mind. Its a wifi password away. The work you already do for 8 hours a day is now unlimited, and the worst part is everyone knows it. Your boss, your employees, your customers and clients are all aware that your phone is a mini computer that you carry around with you everywhere you go. So they expect a quick response and immediate action as soon as their request is received.

Now competition comes into play. If you don’t work fast enough or if you’re unavailable during certain hours, someone else will take your place. Its a numbers game. With the current plethora of qualified professionals rallying for a limited job market, its a buyers market. In translation, employers can raise expectations with little to no regard for your personal needs. I’ve seen it first hand. My husband is a human resource consultant and he can and often does work 24 hours a day. His job never sleeps.

I find this completely absurd. I’m sure I’m not the only one.

When I consider the motivation behind this ridiculous hustle, I find the underlying reason to be one and the same, greed. Why do humans have a history of war and colonization? Greed. Enough is not enough. The appetite of man is insatiable. And so, we will always have a natural inclination to push for the next frontier, the next level of progress, the next alternative to organic living and the next level of irrevocable damage.

What can I say, we are unknowingly masochistic.

Our desire for pleasure and tangible reward leads us to hurt ourselves in a culture that glorifies being overworked. Living in a city like Toronto exacerbates an already high-pressure situation. The cost of living and overall pace of life here can raise the blood pressure of even the healthiest of chakra-aligned yogis. The cost of living goes beyond monetary. Something about the concrete, the sky-scrapers and the noise, it intimidates even the cockiest of bastards…into submission.

The dominant work culture coerces us into consenting foul play. I’m not trying to get sexy here. In fact, this is as far from sexy as you can get…

I blame Leo for being such a lovable asshole in Wolf of Wall Street. I blame the real life assholes of Wall Street (and in Toronto, Bay Street). I blame the Model T Ford, I blame the Industrial Revolution, I blame slavery…for its roots are still seen in the world today.

When precisely did we fall from grace?

When Adam and Eve bit the forbidden fruit? If that’s the case, then the origin of our anguish was our own doing. The solution may be just as well.

A return to classic work schedules and finite expectations would be the beginning of our self-reconciliation. 8 hours a day, 40 hours a week; a reasonable return to our mental, social and physical well being.

Our societal health is not the only thing at risk. Our creative souls are also drowning in our sweat from the excessive toil we subject ourselves to.

Take a walk through a gallery, better yet, Graffiti Alley in Toronto, and you’ll see the artistic imagination and beauty we are capable of…when we have some spare time. Art is often created out of boredom or unexpected inspiration; things that can only germinate in unallocated time. So in order to protect our contribution to our shared history of arts and culture, we must save some time each day for ourselves. Even if we spend it on the couch binge watching tv shows like degens…

Enough about me.

But before I go, let me embolden you just a little bit. The work-life balance IS attainable. But it is trapped in a tower and in distress. Your job, if you choose to accept it, is to fight. Fight for your right to…dance, hike, read, paint, sing, travel, write, cook, do nothing or play. And if you’re thinking what I’m thinking…PAAAAAAAARTY!

Just don’t give up the good fight. Over and out.

-G