really not a workaholic

[Zoe Girl]

Yes I have been deeply focused on my work at times in my life but I just want to shout I am not a workaholic! I think there is a distinct difference between that and having a job that takes a ton of work either temporarily or permanently. I know a lot of us get in that situation, I just am burned out on the 'feedback'. This is after years of (now it is better) my mother pushing hard for me to not work as much. This was after my divorce and she had a lot of misunderstandings, she also does not listen well, so 6 months of telling me to quit a job I needed was a long time. There were more years after that where she was harsh about what I simply needed to do,
I had my meeting with my boss yesterday, it went really well. One thing is that I am struggling because I am simply super tired, tracking my tasks, dealing with increased accountability in several areas. I started off the year doing before school programs and then of course after school and staying all day to get the year started off well. basically it was 12 hours from the time I got to work to the time I left for the first weeks.I am in the process of hiring and having people sub so it is much better, however hiring, training and scheduling are not time-free tasks.

I get advice on how to delegate and not work so hard, but honestly most of us are working that hard. And we are not workaholics overall. I just don't know if there is a better way to express this or simply accept that a lot of people kinda don't listen.

[Ultralight]

About workalholism...

My questions:

How many hours do you work a week?

How many hours must you work a week?

[catherine]

I get advice on how to delegate and not work so hard, but honestly most of us are working that hard. And we are not workaholics overall.

I definitely relate.

I am NOT a workaholic which is why I quit my corporate job. It was costing me 60-70 hours of my week, and I thought if I had control of the projects I took on, I'd have much better quality of life.

But, being freelance with a huge debt burden, I find myself in the position of saying yes to everything as protection against future freelance droughts. So I'm back to working 60 hours a week.

[jp1]

I think the reality is that a lot of people really are working that hard but for TPTB to acknowledge that instead of offering up non-solutions like 'you should learn to delegate more effectively' just isn't going to happen. One of my coworkers in a different division shared a story recently that summed up this situation. Her division was going through a significant restructuring, in the hopes of making it more efficient and reducing costs by moving headcount to cheaper cities. She was asked to do a report on how many of these new back office people would be needed to do the tasks they were going to be doing. She did the math, based on previous studies of the time to do the various job tasks and arrived at a number. When she got to the meeting to present her findings to senior management it became apparent that her number was not in the range they were hoping for. After repeatedly asking questions aimed at changing her recommendation she finally told them in no uncertain words that she could not in good faith recommend a lower number. They ended up ignoring her recommendation and went with a number roughly 2/3 of her recommendation. Undoubtedly these back office people will get beat up for not providing service to a quality level the organization deems adequate.

[JaneV2.0]

There's a difference between being a workaholic and being driven to work yourself to death, IMO.

[Zoe Girl]

About workalholism...

My questions:

How many hours do you work a week?

How many hours must you work a week?

A good week is under 50 hours, 2 years ago I had those type of weeks and starting last year that was rare. For the last month I would say 60 hours.

How many hours I must work? Well I don't do anything that doesn't need to be done other than one training class. That would be 2 hours plus planning and prep over the last month. That task I love, and a couple hours a month for something that could be career development I can live with.

[Zoe Girl]

There's a difference between being a workaholic and being driven to work yourself to death, IMO.

A very good reason I live as simply as I can, so that this is not any longer of a situation than it needs to be

[Ultralight]

A good week is under 50 hours, 2 years ago I had those type of weeks and starting last year that was rare. For the last month I would say 60 hours.

How many hours I must work? Well I don't do anything that doesn't need to be done other than one training class. That would be 2 hours plus planning and prep over the last month. That task I love, and a couple hours a month for something that could be career development I can live with.

60 hours a week is a lot, I mean at lot.

How much time does this leave you to cook proper meals, spend time with family, do a hobby, enjoy some romance, etc.?

[ApatheticNoMore]

How much time does this leave you to cook proper meals, spend time with family, do a hobby, enjoy some romance, etc.?

probably more than anyone working full time and taking several classes has for those things, maybe a lot more.

--------------------

Whatever one's reasons for working so hard (including the mean old bosses) if does hurt the people who care about you and want to see you so even the "mean old bosses" excuse (and I do realize there ARE workplaces pressures, it's not necessarily made up) can ring hollow, but at times in life one may have very few such other obligations I suppose.

[Ultralight]

probably more than anyone working full time and taking several classes has for those things, maybe a lot more.

That was a bit of a zing! ;)

I am making mostly sandwiches these days. Also: Lots of apples with PB! I make better meals on the weekend. But my sammies are usually made with whole grain buns, a lot of lettuce, toms, and onions, and sometimes radishes too (try it!). I am going to start making veggie soup in the crock pot as it is getting cold here now.

I am not close with my family, except for my sister. And since she lives here in Columbus I stop by about once per week.
I fish for a couple hours or so each SAT and SUN.
And my lady friend comes over once or twice a week for a few hours.

I recognize now that 3 classes on top of full time work is likely too much! So... next semester I am going to only take two. This means it will take me 4 years to finish rather than three. But I don't want to neglect things like my dog. I also may need to help my sis and BIL since they are about to have a kid.

[ToomuchStuff]

There's a difference between being a workaholic and being driven to work yourself to death, IMO.


+1
I was thinking a workaholic might be that, because they actually love what they do.

[JaneV2.0]

+1
I was thinking a workaholic might be that, because they actually love what they do.

There are people who simply love what they do (a lucky few); artists and research scientists, and the like. They might even seem obsessed, but they're happy, and they're contributing.

There are the driven, who have no control over their hours or amount of work. They're often the downtrodden, underpaid and overworked. They're generally not happy.

And there are the pathological workers who--for reasons unknown even to themselves--devote their lives entirely to their (often mundane) jobs to the exclusion of everything else--family, health, enriching activities, even without economic pressures. I think this is the group know as workaholics.

At least that's my take on it. And what do I know--I've always been a slacker. :cool:

[Zoe Girl]

I don't want to say I have mean bosses, it is a system that is affecting all of us really. I don't see them having total control and this year everyone is much nicer. However the job is huge, and I already shared about the paperwork increase recently. It is a non-profit type job and I do love it, however no matter how much you love a job you may get really tired out. I don't know how I did it when my kids were younger, and in lots of therapy and other supports.

I may not have all the choices I want, however I can look at things honestly and also make a decision to not be bitter. I generally want to know if the majority of jobs are like this before I start the long process of transitioning careers, no use leaving work I really like to end up in the same situation.