If You’re So Successful, Why Are You Still Working 70 Hours a Week?
Being a workaholic is a common practice for many people in the corporate world. At some point during their careers, they have prioritized their jobs over everything else in their lives. This is not necessarily how it is meant to be, and it also means that other relationships and responsibilities may suffer or take a back stage. While you might climb the corporate ladder and attain a top position, while you might enjoy the perks of your position and have money, and access; you have to further assess how your family life and personal relationships are being affected.
The Rat Race
Living in the constant effects of the rat race can take its toll and might even limit your life expectancy. This is a difficult ideology to accept for many because they have been brainwashed to believe otherwise. To them, working a 70 hour work week is mandatory. It is the expected thing for those people who are working in white collar jobs; especially lawyers, bankers, accountant, and consultants. Chronic stress is the only lasting benefit of such an erroneous endeavor.
Somewhere, over the last couple decade people think that because you have a senior position it is expected that you will work long hours. However, this was never the case in the early days. It was the goal to attain a senior position, but one had to learn the heart of delegation and investing your wealth wisely. As you get older, your money must work harder for you and not you for your money. Partnership was the top prize for those who worked in investment banks, management consultancies, accountancy firms, and law firms. However, at some point they were able to relax and not worry about losing their position. They had more time for recreational activities.
Perpetuating An Erroneous Subculture
Perpetuating the overtime culture in business will only make it seem more acceptable to the upcoming generation. As such, it will be increasingly hard to eradicate. This can only lead to job dissatisfaction and high levels of burn out. People become disenchanted with their career and their productivity decreases. When you arrive for the job, it is your direct responsibility to work at max productivity within the hours that you have been given.
Professional’s Insecurity Of Overachievers
According to Professor Laura Empson of the University of London, “A professional’s insecurity is rooted in the inherent intangibility of knowledge work. The insecurity caused by this intangibility is exacerbated by the rigorous “up or out” promotion system perpetuated by elite professional organizations, which turns your colleagues into your competitors. Exacerbating this problem, elite professional organizations deliberately set out to identify and recruit “insecure overachievers”. Insecure overachievers are exceptionally capable and fiercely ambitious, yet driven by a profound sense of their own inadequacy.”
Corporate Social Control
Corporate companies have shaped our society and directly impacted our family life. Social control by these behemoths have enforced and reinforced this erroneous culture and so millions and billions of people find themselves working 70 hours or more, even though they are very successful.
Another fallacy is that because they have not had the opportunity to foster a family life, many employees see their co-workers as family. It should be understood that there is often only surface conversation among colleagues and only a few will have a true insight into your personal life. Therefore, to hold on to the notion of workmates being a family can only be referred to as delusional.
Workers today are blinded and misguided. They have been sucked into a lie long propagated by society, and they believe that overtime is by choice. Many such corporate zombies have lost out on fully developing their potential and expanding their success to the other aspects of their lives.
