We all want advance our careers as quickly as possible. We want to impress our supervisors, show them that we are willing to put in the time and effort it takes to get to the top.
But there is a difference between working hard and working smart. There is a point when working hard runs into the law of diminishing returns. It actually becomes counterproductive. It leads to burnout. It affects our relationships. It may even give your supervisor the impression that you don’t know how to manage your time.
It is important to maintain boundaries, to maintain a healthy work-life balance. If work bleeds over into time that should be our own, that is not healthy, and in the long run, it is detrimental to our productivity.
Here are a few things to watch out for, signs that you are letting your work take over your life, and that you need to make some adjustments.
1. Not taking lunch breaks.
There may be times when you need to skip lunch – maybe you are working on an important project and running up against a deadline. But skipping lunch should not be an everyday occurrence. This is time to relax, to take a break from work, to recover and reenergize.
2. Checking emails when you are not at work.
Again, you should not let your work bleed over into your personal life. You will be better served by keeping your personal life oriented toward personal activities.
3. Not taking paid time off.
This is also part of a healthy work-life balance, which will actually help you to increase your productivity. Taking vacation gives you time to rest and reenergzie.
4. Doing more than you can handle.
You might think that taking on more and more work might impress your supervisor, but when the amount of work becomes overwhelming, you are actually doing more harm than good. When you take on more than you can handle, you risk diluting the quality of your work.
We all need to take breaks during the workday; we can only focus our minds and energies for so long before we need rest. The same is true for work-life balance. We need to keep work in its place, and allow for personal time to rest, recover, and prevent burnout.
If you are looking for temporary, temporary-to-hire or direct-hire work in the Anchorage area, send a message to the Opti Staffing Group, one of the best in the region. We would love to discuss how we can help you find the right job.