Beware: work that doesn't feel like work is dangerous
It may be the most heard excuse when someone works late into the night: Yes, but my job doesn't feel like work. Something to be envious of, right? Research shows that this is not the case, as a job that doesn't feel like work is more dangerous for your health than you think.
With The Great Resignation around the corner, in America it is already in full swing with 70 percent of workers looking for another job, everyone is busy with the big job happiness. Surely you should do what makes you happy? Or better yet: have a job that doesn't feel like work? The fact that our fathers, mothers, grandfathers, and grandmothers worked their butts off in a job they didn't enjoy means we are not going to do that. It seems like the pinnacle of a free life, but it is more dangerous than you think.
You not only work more than 40 hours a week, your social life often revolves around a job as well. Just think of that Friday afternoon drink that lasts deep into the night, those few days in the sun with colleagues, and discussing your weekend at the coffee machine. If you also work evenings, weekends, and holidays because you enjoy it so much, then the separation between working and being free is hard to find. That's where it becomes more dangerous.
Work is not just work, work also provides satisfaction. You live for a compliment from the manager, pour your heart and soul into reaching a target, and gain confidence from what you do. But the moment you are (a little bit) overworked or become burned out, this hits twice as hard. Because: you are your job, this is what you do and where you derive satisfaction from?
With a burnout, your job happiness disappears for a period, no matter how much you love a job. And what is left if you live for your work, is often thought. Exactly what it is: work. That is the advantage for everyone who sees a job for what it is: work. You lose nothing more than that. Maybe it’s not such a crazy idea to look for a hobby after all?
Image: Atelier Mabel
