Overcome Your Tendency to Overwork
Harvard Business Review
14,007,842 followers
January 31, 2023
How can you develop habits that will help you create a good work-life balance and avoid burnout? You have to start by understanding why you overwork in the first place.
Ask yourself: Are you just following the lead of your workaholic boss? Do you think that working long hours will help you get ahead? Are you trying to prove to others that you're a hard worker? Does being busy make you feel important?
Next, make small changes to regain some control over your time. Try leaving work on time (or early!) two days a week to do something you love. Let your boss know that you won’t always be available after hours to respond to their emails. And if you’re able, be selective about which projects you take on, prioritizing those that will help you grow.
It may also be helpful to redefine your free time — it’s not unproductive time, it’s time that helps you recharge.
Finally, if you can’t make the progress toward the work-life balance you desire, you may want to reconsider whether you’re in the right role or industry.
Read the full article: "Why Young Professionals Should Prioritize Rest Over Work."
We're going live tomorrow, February 1 at 12 PM ET with Janice Bryant Howroyd, the first African-American woman to build and own a billion-dollar enterprise. Howroyd is an entrepreneur, businesswoman, author, and founder and CEO of the ActOne Group, a global staffing-solutions company. RSVP here.
Learn more:
How to Get Through an Extremely Busy Time at Work
5 Things to Do When You Feel Overwhelmed by Your Workload
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Understanding why you overwork will help you create a good work-life balance and avoid burnout.
View Shengwen Calvin Li, PhD,EIC,FRSB,FRSM’s profile • YouEditor-in-Chief, World J. Stem Cells (IF 5.326)
Not "life-work balance" but "life-work circle" for balance is confusing as you gotta juggle the two and make choices, and the circle is flexible—sometimes you can draw the line yourself. Attitude affects altitude, so it can be helpful to think again about how important the work-to-results ratio and how you spend your free time are. Your free time in space and time is not wasted. Instead, it allows you to recharge your physical and emotional well-being as well as learn new things, allowing you to be more effective and productive with your work and problems.
Champak J Sharma out of network3rd+Senior Manager, International Banking Division, Union Bank of India
A common issue faced by many is not the tendency to overwork or a overworking boss, but :
1. Teammates overworking which by defaults creates an atmosphere wherein others if not staying back for extra hours are being treated like escapists.
2. Unhealthy work environment where manpower or technical support is not good enough to get the things done within proper time. This further results in the employees forced to overwork as ultimately the deadline is to be met.
A suggestion/discussion on the above two points would jighky valuable.
Stanley Ikemba-Mgbeke GMNIM out of network3rd+BSc. Economics; Doing what Economists do
I absolutely agree with you Sir, especially on your number one point. When we have overworking teammates, and we are unwillingly to overwork ourselves, we end up looking 'unserious' to work.
My suggestion, we should stop 'random' overwork. People may actually overwork when it becomes absolutely necessary, and such necessity must be officially communicated by management. Maybe it could help stop people from 'forced overworking'
Diana Akulich out of network3rd+Business Development Manager - a professional software development company with years of successful experience delivering complex enterprise-grade software solutions
Thank you!
View Yvan Delcourt’s profile • 3rd+Levées de Capitaux - Fusions et Acquisitions - Founder, Entrepreneur and CEO - Business Angel.
En cette période troublée, je vous propose de vous distraire un peu en lisant mon dernier roman intitulé « Place Vendôme – L’Etat hors la loi » aux allures de thriller. Vous en apprendrez beaucoup sur la justice en phase d’implosion et sur le milieu secret des diamantaires Pour vous procurer cet ouvrage, tapez sur Google le titre « Place Vendôme II – L’Etat hors la loi ». Je vous conseille d’acheter sur AMAZON car eux diffusent les avis des lecteurs. N’hésitez pas à me communiquer vos commentaires –Merci A vous lire, Bien à Vous Yvan Delcourt – delcourty85@gmail.com -
View JD Goulet’s profile (She/They) • 3rd+? Âû ? Writer | Learning Experience Designer | Neurodivergence & Accessibility Consultant
(edited)
Ask yourself if the economic system you live within, likely without a choice, is right for you. Does it enable you to prioritize your own needs and physical and emotional well being, or does it force you to labor beyond what's reasonable for you for someone else's benefit so that you can avoid forced poverty, homelessness, and starvation?
For me, quitting my toxic workplace doesn't mean quitting my actual workplace or the work I'm doing, it means quitting living in a capitalist country, and taking the work with me.
Swap out "work" for "country" or "economic system" and this passage is still true, if not more so.
"When all else fails, you may realize that your *country* is toxic, and it’s the culture that’s pushing you toward overwork and burnout. Consider quitting and finding another *country*. Do not let yourself get overwhelmed with pessimism or the idea that you’ll never find a *country* that will give you better balance. Healthy *economic systems* do exist."
View Mboa Pascal’s profile • 3rd+#1 Black African Visionary Leadership & Self-awareness Coach - Hope Advocate | Founder @Rech Management Fze
To begin, I suggest using the term "life-work balance" to emphasize that life takes precedence over work. Next, assess your self-realization to determine where you stand. Some may need to work harder in the beginning or end of a life project, and understanding what is required of you is crucial. One crucial but often overlooked factor is understanding your personality and behavioral tendencies. Knowing how and why you behave a certain way is important.
Self-mastery is really what it takes to have power over work and not the opposite. You can start a quick journey by assessing yourself using Disc tool, find a free link on my website www.mboapascal.com and learn more from your report.
View david vazquez sarmiento’s profile • 3rd+camarero en la solana
Love this
View Ly T H Tran’s profile • 3rd+VP, Business Transformation at HSBC
Thanks for posting
View Kristen C. Edsall’s profile (She/Her) • 2ndClinical & Nursing Informatics is my jam, passionate patient and clinician advocate, lover of all things nature and one cat shy of being a crazy cat lady.
Article is 35 years too late! Those of you younger in your career take notice. Once you are in the pattern to over work it is hard to break. I have struggled with this my entire career.
View Eduardo Rimoli’s profile • 3rd+Control Systems and Channel Partners Area Sales Manager at ABB
Sometimes it is no so easy to overwork, mainly if you are dealing with teams located in different time zones, so mails, messages, phone calls are coming too early in the morning or too late during the evening,
To reach a balance between work life and personal life is not always an easy task. Prioritizing is a good key that helps.
View Bryan Rochemont’s profile • 3rd+Area Sales Manager at Contec, Inc.
Good read and I agree. I have crossed paths with a few people that need to read this.
View Andrés D. Velásquez’s profile • 3rd+Mindfulness, Management & Innovación
I recommend the practice of Mindfulness to support this shift in consciousness and return to balance.
View Philip Norbury’s profile (He/Him) • 3rd+Goals are inherent within the quality of what you do in each moment !
Understanding why people burn out can go much deeper than work life balance. My experience is that we burn out when at some level we are at odds with how life is unfolding or has unfolded for us. It is possible to engineer out any such resistance, allowing a complete flow of energy and it helps if you know an expert.
View Mohamed Hammoud’s profile • 3rd+Executive & Leadership Coach | I help business execs & senior leaders thrive by elevating their emotional intelligence & maximizing their influence to boost performance, drive results & build resilient team relationships
And I’d like to add that we should strive for harmony because balance usually involves tension between the two opposing forces.
View Stephen Lenz’s profile (He/Him) • 2nd| Health Enthusiast | Gamer | Networker | Engager | Program Manager |
Harvard Business Review this is the truth...thank you for the small tip reminder for this. I am trying to separate my two lives distinctly because right now our manager is working us to the gills, micromanaging us and not providing any incentives for the hard work being put in.
