Has your Business Enslaved you?

Imagine dying at your desk. On the job. Pretty awful, right? Well it happens. When work becomes the only thing you live for, it kills you. Did you know that sitting for too long can hurt you? Working for too long, not taking vacations, it's all there and it can all cause damage. I touched on it before in this blog, but I want to cover something different.

Stress from your job can trap you by itself. But there are other aspects of work that we can fall into and not even recognize that we are doing ourselves harm. This article discusses the aspects of self-enslavement, especially at work. We trap ourselves within our own lives- too many activities, too many jobs, not enough vacations. Many people that I know have enslaved themselves.

We constantly tell ourselves that we must work more. More activity to cram into a day, more work to get ahead, more strain, stress, and worry. People all around the world (including America) are literally working themselves to death, and it is socially acceptable.

And that's the tragedy.

Work should support your life, not become it. No living being was meant to work for as long or hard as humans do, or force others to do. You work to (hopefully) be fulfilled, and to support yourself and/or your family. Work has a duty to support you, not trap you inside a cage.

Working hard is fine. Don't get me wrong. But I've said it before, and I'll say it again- there are so many more things to life than just work. And there are so many more things to life than not working! The key is simply balance, and that my friend, is not what humanity has. The scales are tipping toward toil and death, and it's time to lighten things up, no matter how grim any given situation is.

Lighten up!

Worry Will Destroy You

Business and life are two things that intertwine and rarely support each other naturally.

Humans worry about everything. The ones that don't worry, typically have no worries or simply don't care. For the rest of us, we have to deal with it. Stress, worry, fear, name it. There are a lot of negative emotions that can be tied to business, especially if you are letting it completely dominate every aspect of your life.

Work and life are also two separate entities. Even though they run closely side by side, it simply doesn't matter. Last time I checked, life happens first, and then you get a job. So why wouldn't we make our job have some kind of meaning in our life? Some importance? Even if you hate your job. Easier said than done I'm sure.

Many of us don't have too many options when it comes to working. Jobs are tricky nowadays, and a lot of companies are much less apt to risk wasting assets on training when applicants don't work out. So this means that some of us may not be working in a completely ideal situation. But this is okay.

How much of your life do you control? None? All? Some? Did you come up with this percentage? You control all of your life, all the time. But. There are many more things in this world than just you. Many outside forces you can't control. So what do you do? Simple.

Relish having no control.

Life occurs outside of our plans. Outside of anything that we may have prepared for, really, and it is up to us as humans, honest hard working humans, to endure. That's what we must do. Endure.

There are plenty of things to worry about. But I'll keep this entry short and sweet. Worry about the big things you have control over. Everything else? I plan on waiting to see what life has in store. Do you?

Why Haven't we Shortened the Work Week yet?

Hard work is a beautiful thing.

The ability, the willpower, the honesty. Work is something that is 9 times outta 10 unavoidable. So why do we make it out to be such a difficult chore? Sure, work isn't meant to be completely fun (is anything?), but there has got to be better ways as to how to deal with the work week.

I've wrote a couple of articles expressing my disdain about the length of the average work week, vacation time, rests, etc. But one thing I simply cannot understand is why we (for the most part) engage in an extremely strenuous 40+ hours a week? Should we work less? No- we should work smarter. Or both!

This is you, isn't it? (source)

Of course, I looked online to see what other people had to say, and I found many arguments for the shorter work week. The individual mentioned in this New York Times article talks about how a shorter work week was implemented at his firm, and in turn? They wound up doing better work! Here, see for yourself:

"For example, from May through October, we switch to a four-day workweek. And not 40 hours crammed into four days, but 32 hours comfortably fit into four days...

but there’s one surprising effect of the changed schedule: better work gets done in four days than in five...less time to work, you waste less time." 

(source)

Remember sleep? Me either. (source)

 

Humans work. That's what we do. Most modern culture has adopted insane work schedules because there is stuff to be done, and bills to be paid. But if keeping our noses to the grindstone has become so indicative of human culture, why not adopt a plan to optimize the very thing we let govern our lives?

Like I said, the idea of a shorter work week is catching on domestic and abroad. Gambia, a nation in Africa, tried the idea. However, they still work the 40 hour week. The UK, the Netherlands, all dabbled in the idea- take a look. And like with my previous example, a shorter work week with more rest makes for better work. Look at this quote taken straight from the article: 

"...Monday mornings people aren't so groggy - they hit the ground running. We have really tight deadlines, it's very collaborative, we try to squeeze as much into our days as possible."  (source) 

We all know it's true. (source)

Unfortunately, not all companies can shortern their work week. And if they do, they must be available for emergencies, but businesses with normal(ish) circumstances and business plans should be able to adopt this method. 

I've said it before, and I'll say it again. Humans have to rest. Work is good. Yes. It is rewarding, it builds character, it gets you money, it gives you confidence, the list goes on and on. But we always forget that there is so much more to life than just making the next buck, or working an extra day. 

Our time on this planet in finite. Why should we have to spend any more time tired and stressed than we have to?

Positvity in Business

Negative thoughts and outlooks are poisonous.

Many people like to hide under the guise of "being realistic." Sometimes, a situation is hopelessly screwed, true. But even in the worse calamities, one must find silver linings to keep pushing through. Determination, perseverance, and positivity. Three essential qualities that are indicative of a healthy mind to do good business.

Being realistic isn't always grim, like most people say. Especially in business. It is rare when you can't go back and mend the broken parts of your occupation, whether you're an owner, or an employee. There are many stark realities in this world, harsh truths, and difficult trials. But what's important is that we push through the bad stuff and focus on the good- where your business is headed, and how successful it will be.

Depression, anger, anxiety, and a whole host of other unpleasant feelings can cloud even the clearest mind. An owner that is may have surgical execution of goals and profit lines can crumble in the face of a big gamble, or failure. Failure isn't something to stay upset about. No-one likes to fail. But it's how we see failure that drags us down.

I've worked in many hostile situations at various jobs. Fortunately, the one I am currently doing is an exception to this type of experience, but I digress. I have worked many different jobs in my short span of life on this rock, and I can tell you, the negative, bitter people drag everyone down to their level so they can all share in the misery. And lemmie tell ya. If you are easily influenced by the moods of others like I am, all of a sudden you can find yourself bitchin' and moanin' with the worst of em'. Like I did.

Business is tough. Whether your raking in billions, or just clearing your first million in annual sales, business is a grueling, draining experience. But. It doesn't have to be. Work is hard. It's supposed to be hard- I mean come on. It wouldn't be called work if it was easy. But things don't have to be easy to be positive.

If you plan on having any success in your life, taciturn business practices and a grumpy personality will sink you. No matter what happens, no matter how bad things get, you must always stay positive in the end. If you start taking business too seriously, it will consume you alive, and leave behind nothing.

Stay happy. Stay positive. Make money.
Now go be awesome.

Happy Coexistence With your Job

Work is tough.

Many people all around the world do not like their jobs. Hell, I found a blogger that wrote an entry on how to deal with toxic occupations! Some tolerate, some enjoy, and everything in-between. Certain individuals may see work as a means to an end, like putting food on the table, or providing for a family. But here's a concept that I introduce to you:

What if we tried to live with our jobs, opposed to just going to them? Accepted work opposed to dread it? There is freedom in simply letting go, you know. Work is work and that is that, but what if we changed perspective a little bit, and saw our jobs in a new light?

Hate is an Ugly Thing (Source)

That's what I'm trying to do. Now, I'm not unhappy at my job. No I am not. But there are times when work gets to me, as I am sure it all gets to you. And sometimes, I carry with me an anchor of dread when I have to return to work on Monday after a nice weekend. But is this the right thing to do? Better yet, healthy thing to do? I don't think so.

Acceptance comes in many shades. 

We could all stand to be a little more Zen. (Source)

A different perspective on work can change many things. Sometimes, it reveals that there are aspects of your job that you enjoy that you didn't even know about! And in the other extreme, sometimes a different perspective can let you see that it's time to move on. There are all parts of simply accepting that work is work, and we must do it to survive.

Many people think that they have no choice but to stay at a job that they despise. This isn't true. They've accepted the "fact" that they can't do anything else but sit there and be miserable. There are even coping mechanisms that can be used to help deal with a job that someone may hate. But is this true coexistence? Or is it just a band-aid?

Job dissatisfaction is very common among Americans. And some choose to cope with the stress of bad professional situations in a variety of ways, not all of them healthy. So what would you rather do? Cope, or accept?

Above: Never the Answer to a Problem (Source)

Acceptance is a strange thing, you know. Typically, it has a positive connotation, implying that one is content with one's situation, and is ready to rest of their laurels. But this isn't always the case. We accept many things all the time! Like...being in traffic, or being sick, or getting a parking ticket. We accept that these things have happened, and then we decide how we want to deal with them. So...don't cope. Accept!

I hate it when people say, "I don't have a choice," or when they say it to me: "you don't have a choice." This is completely untrue. We have free reign to do whatever we want, whenever we want. The only thing that holds us back is how a situation will turn out for us. You can hate your job. You can hate it with all your heart, and you can believe that you have no alternatives. But is that really true? I don't think it is.

You ALWAYS Have a Choice (Source)

You are a human (hopefully). You have a mind, you have a heart (gag me) and you have the will to focus everything you have into anything you want. So with all that power at your disposal...

Are you really gonna just sit there and be unhappy?

Praise in the Workplace- Yes It's Important

Morale is the intangible asset that makes a business flow smoothly. Of course, money, resources, equipment and the like are all important too, but take a second to consider this. What is a company without its people? And I mean everyone, from the hourly worker in the trenches to the President/CEO in the branch office 1000 miles away. Sure, you can have employees, and sure they'll work for you. But how much will they want to work for you? How much will they take before they just give up?

Don't be that guy.   Source

Praise, attention, a simple thank you, good job, etc are absolutely invaluable to worker performance. I know because when I'm praised for doing a job well done, or being there when no-one else could be, I want to work harder! I want to get better, work harder, and really give it my all. Think this is all a load of new-age, touchy-feely, progressive crap? Read on.

Feeling...unappreciated?  Source

For those of you that just want the cold, hard facts, here ya go: THE FACTS. It's dry, but informative. I found myself getting bored, so I looked at another link instead. This one was more cut to the chase- it outlines the feelings and desires of an average employee, and basically tells you (the reader) what you may be doing to ruin their productivity and destroy morale all around the office. No matter what, overall employee morale comes down to management. Of course, there are some employees that don't want to do anything, or will simply have a bad attitude no matter what. But these people are the exceptions, opposed to the standard.

On the other hand, too much praise can be bad as well. In another article I found, praising employees too much can cause a number of adverse outcomes that hurt the productivity of the worker, and the company. According to the article, too much praise can inflate egos rather than encourage independence and confidence. The praise can also become empty and meaningless, more annoying than encouraging I would suspect.

Source

Giving praise is something that should come naturally, I think, and isn't a scripted event, or a policy in some in the tome that is an employee handbook. I found this article too, addressing some of the common myths, or misconceptions about praise. Evidently, some people just don't know how to tell others that they're doing a good job. And that's okay. Not everyone is demonstrative, but having that in mind, I want to discuss my final point.

Motivation is personal. A person cannot be motivated to do something well. They can be forced, intimidated, asked, but motivation is something that comes from within. Real, honest to goodness praise strengthens, and inspires motivation. Period.

Source

So if you deem yourself not as the touchy feely type, that's fine! Sometimes, all employees (including myself)  are looking for is a "thank you" when a report get done early, or a "good job!" when they've really worked hard and tried to make their work mean something. You don't have to give them a hug or read em' a poem, you know.

A simple thank you usually does the trick.

Can an Office Job Kill You?

Some of us sit at a desk all day tak tak takking at a computer. And although these people don't move much, that doesn't mean they are lazy. But. Inactivity is inactivity, no matter how much work you get done at your seat. When I did the research for this article, I was a little disturbed to find this one: Death by Cubicle. Me? I thought that there was some minor health risks, but the cubicle can be far more insidious than I thought. Strange, using insidious to describe something so...benign and bland.

Source

But, I get ahead of myself. I was only thinking about no movement, or perhaps poor diet when I first started this entry, but I was surprised to find that cubicles promote bacteria growth. And not the everyday stuff your body's immune system can just atomize, but potentially dangerous microbes that can make you ill. And it's not just bacteria. Poor ventilation in a building, combined with construction, fungus, and other particulates can cause occupational asthma, which is a freakin' shock to me. Poor ventilation (among a whole host of other things) can also cause sick building syndrome. Combine these phenomena with the fact that many people feel obligated to go to work when they're sick, and you have a dangerous environment that is completely invisible to the naked eye.

Source

People also sitting at desks all day may have poor working conditions starting with simple things like seating, and computer monitor distance. Take a look at this check list and to the inventory the website says. How's your posture? Can your seat be adjusted? What about your keyboard? Do you have wrist support? Back support? The list goes on and on.

Source

Psychological effects are abound as well. Evidently, according to this article, minor distractions from your co-workers, like them chatting on their cellphones, chatting with other workers, etc. can add up day after day after day and just break you down. This increases stress levels, and when chronic stress settles in, the human body falls apart. Hell, any sentient being breaks down.

Source

Should you quit your office job? No. Should you be aware of yourself and your health? Yes. As adults in the working world, we all have responsibilities and intelligence (at least we should...). We use judgement, good ole' fashioned common sense and logic to know what's good for us, and what's bad. You know when something hurts. You know when you're stressed. So, as an adult, you must control yourself within an uncontrollable environment.

So what can you do? After mere seconds, I found an entire LIST of stuff you can do to keep your body healthy. While you're at your desk! Combine that with proper diet and some stress relief breathing exercises and you're going to be feeling much better.

Work is hard. Period. I don't care if you're building a house, or filing a report. Work breaks us down, wears us out, and makes us tired. But, work is something that can also be rewarding, fun, and satisfying. Don't let the world break ya down. Stay strong, work hard, and for the love of everything good, TAKE A BREAK!

If you don't think you've earned it, you probably have.

Adult Naptime and Disposition

Coming to grips that I still need nap time as an adult is more difficult than I anticipated. Let me paint a picture, and then I'll tie it all together like I usually do. Several weeks ago, I was enjoying the weekend with my wife. I was off from work, and things were good. Suddenly, my mood became dark and I was extremely irritable. I became depressed, angry, and stoic. We were out and about in town, so all I wanted to do was go home and hide.

When we finally got home, I decided that I was fed up with feeling this way, and I didn't want my wife to deal with my stupidity either. Seeing no other options at the time, I went into my bedroom and tried to go to sleep. It was then I realized I was exhausted. I could barely keep my eyes open.

Once awakening FOUR hours later, I felt completely changed, and ready to face the world again. I fight fatigue all week long, and it's not because my job is boring. It's something we all have to face and fight. But, when I start fighting fatigue during periods of time when I can rest, I start to have problems. And I'm not the only one. Check out this blogger. He says the same thing I do, and I'm sure I'll not be hard pressed to find more like him and I.

And then there's the concept of a siesta. Italy has one (source): "A siesta can be taken anytime during the day but typically it is when the sun is at it's hottest so anytime between 12 and 2pm and often after lunch." There's even an entire Wikipedia article based on it and the importance of naps! Artists have created paintings of them too:

 

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Die_H%C3%A4ngematte.jpg

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:La_migdiada.jpg

So, what happened? Other countries have siestas. Not all (which includes us) but some. There is no denying that sleep is important. So why do we ignore dream time? In fact, we even chastise those who are using their time for sleep, even a short ten minute break from consciousness. This woman describes a story about how her husband does not approve of her napping habits. She, at one time, even tried to stop her "habit" of napping, but wound up having to do it in secret. In her own home!

The working world is a world obsessed with time and productivity, even if such "values" diminish our ability to effectively deal and utilize both metaphorical resources. Would it be a crime to allow a twenty minute, non-paid optional nap break? Also, would it be wrong if workers chose to use lunchtime, or time before and after shifts to sleep?

As far as the working world is concerned, yes. Not only is it wrong, it's a heinous crime. Why? In all honesty, the world is simply going to get faster and more complex. People will have to do twice as much with the twenty four hours we are allotted each day, and eventually we will all wear ourselves out.

What do you think? Do you think I'm right, or I'm just cranky and need a nap?

Work-Related Stress and Substances

Is it possible to function in the adult world without the aid of a legal/illegal substance?

I say no, it's not. And I'm not just talking about alcohol, pot, coke, etc. I'm talking about any substance that enters the human body and has an effect on it and is a drug. Let's take an easy one first. Alcohol. Prolific, used and abused by millions. Many consume alcohol to lower stress levels. Work, in case you didn't know, is typically a massive source of chronic stress, which helps develop bad habits. I didn't just pull that out m'butt.

Look at this excerpt from an article I found:  "Research and population surveys have shown that persons under stress , particularly chronic stress, tend to exhibit more unhealthy behaviors than less-stressed persons. Stressed people drink more alcohol, smoke more, and eat less nutritious foods than non-stressed individuals." (Source) 

And here's another one focusing on addiction and stress: "Stress has long been known to increase vulnerability to addiction. The last decade has led to a dramatic increase in understanding the underlying mechanisms for this association."  (Source)

That's a pretty easy correlation. But, not everyone drinks! I know this, you know this. What about other recreational drugs? I have found after doing some research that a substance can be addictive, true, but it is the introduction of chronic stress that wears down our willpower, making people more vulnerable to self-medication and addiction. Taken from this peer-reviewed journal, the facts don't lie: "High emotional stress is associated with loss of control over impulses and an inability to inhibit inappropriate behaviors and to delay gratification."

Drugs, alcohol. Smoking, too. Many believe that smoking cigarettes, pipes, cigars, etc. has a relaxing effect, and can help calm nerves when under a lot of stress. Although, it is unclear why people only think they relax when they smoke. I found, thanks to this article, that the feeling of relaxation is only perceived. Cigarettes actually have the opposite effect: "Studies have found, however, that in reality, lighting up has the opposite effect, causing long-term stress levels to rise, not fall. For those dependent on smoking, the only stress it relieves is the withdrawal between cigarettes."

Prescription drugs, too. Let's say you're a straight shooter. You don't smoke, you don't drink. No drugs, except for what your doctor prescribes you. But I bet stress has worn you down. In fact, in the United States, there has been a significant jump in the number of people who have been taking cholesterol controlling drugs: "From 1988 to 1994, 3.4% of adults took a statin (drug that helps control cholesterol). This percentage jumped to 15.5% in 2007-2010." (Source) Why focus on cholestrol and stress? High stress levels, especially when chronic, builds up cortisol in your system, a hormone released when the body is stressed. A constant flow of cortisol in your body makes your body produce more cholesterol, same with adrenaline, which also is released during stress events, and also stimulates the production of cholesterol.

There's a direct link, look at the facts: "These two hormones (adrenaline and cortisol) produced by the hypothalamus also trigger the production of cholesterol. Cortisol produces more sugar in order to provide the body with instant energy to tackle the stressful situation. The high sugar levels, however, often are not used up by the body and eventually are converted to fatty acids and cholesterol. Stress also can push people toward unhealthy eating habits and lifestyles: smoking, drinking and eating a diet that contributes to high cholesterol." (Source)

Stress requires us to medicate ourselves to stay well (cholsterol medications, high blood pressure medications, tranquilizers, etc) or to relieve, or more accurately, forget stress (recreational drugs and alcohol). But in reality, we are only making the problem worse. We work too much. Once again, we work. TOO. MUCH. All over the damn globe, and especially America, we are working ourselves to death. We've even developed methods to further that end to deal with the side-effects of working too hard! See the madness?

Enough talk. It is impossible to exist in the adult, working world without the sustained usage of prescription, or recreational drugs, including alcohol. That is my stand. What's yours?

Stress and Working Yourself to Death

We all must work. Whether it is an honest job or not, we all work somehow. Many of us, however, work ourselves to the point where we can no longer work. Doesn't have to be physical. Some of the hardest workers I know barely lift anything over 5 pounds in their work day. But this is the point of this whole damn entry- most of us, and I mean as a nation (U.S.A.), work way too long, and way too hard.

Where does it end? With debt, cost of living, unexpected expenses, most people have to work two or three jobs just to make ends meet. Many other countries that we share the planet with set a maximum hour limit to a work week. America does not. We also among the countries that have the most of our men and women working over 40 hours a week.

There are no laws regulating paid sick days (a company does not have to offer them) and employers expect more and more and more from us on average as money and resources get tighter. The article listed in this paragraph begun to suggest that this type of cycle is more insidious than circumstantial: and that's not just me whining- there is only so much a human being can do in a day before work suffers. Before life suffers.

Here's a look at offered vacation days around the world that'll make you sad:

Source: http://20somethingfinance.com/american-hours-worked-productivity-vacation/

Don't understand the graph? Me either. So, I found this webpage that details it all. And I quote:

"This report reviewed international vacation and holiday laws and found that the United States is the only advanced economy that does not guarantee its workers any paid vacation or holiday."

Now of course this doesn't mean that NO-ONE takes vacation days, but what I found interesting is that Americans actually wind up giving back vacation days, i.e. not using them. In this article, it is stated that, "In 2009, harrumphs Expedia, Americans 'gave back' a total of 436m vacation days." That number has probably increased since then. If we do get offered vacation days, sometimes we don't take them to try and do more at work to get ahead. When we do take them, we typically don't use all of them, and sometimes? We can't use all our vacation days if they're not paid. We can't afford to miss work!

What have we become? Forget America for a second. What has a human being become? We just...work until death? Is that what we are? A tireless, bio-machine that simply goes to work, keeps working, and then expires without retirement benefits. People. We're not meant to live our lives this way.

Easier said than done of course. But. Yes, there's always but. But. I wanted to see what working does to your body. According to this website, "the latest findings discovered by scientists at the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health support results from a 2011 British survey that revealed that doing more than 11 hours of work a day raised heart disease risks by 67 percent." The article then suggested that poor diet, lack of exercise (these two most commonly associated with office jobs in my opinion AND from personal experience) creates a well? In a word? Fatal combination.

Then, being under the constant stress of working all the time, your body produces cortisol, which is good in short amounts, but when your bloodstream is flooded with the stuff 24/7, you can see all sorts of dangerous side effects, like increased blood pressure, and a compromised immune response. And then, you can enjoy a nice heart attack for all you hard work and dedication.

Source: http://www.umm.edu/patiented/articles/coronary_artery_blockage_000441.htm

But as Americans, we work more than most other 1st world countries. Which is startling. Aren't we always told that Americans have zero work ethic? Have no spine for true, hard work? Not all of us. Some? Sure. But not all of us. Not me. Probably not you, either. Here's what I found (quote taken from here):

"The UN International Labour Organisation said the average Australian, Canadian and Japanese worker worked about 100 hours, or 2.5 weeks less than the average American per year. Brazilians and British workers worked 250 hours, or more than five weeks less, while Germans worked roughly 500 hours, or 12.5 weeks less."

We all work hard. But it seems that America is working the "hardest". And this is not a completely good thing. Americans, whether they were born and raised here, or immigrated from a different land, work way too much. Race doesn't play into it. Location does. Why America? Why do we demand so much for so little? Why are we not the only ones thinking this way? I have no idea. One could speculate, of course. Economy, ethics, greed, this list could go on and on. But the fact of the matter is we, humans, all work too hard. Life winds up becoming weekend to weekend, and if you work on the weekend, you may have no rest at all!

So what are we to do? I don't know.

Do you?