The Pressures of Work
As you know. I run a Cisco weekend boot camp in the UK about
once per month. It is amazing how many people book months
in advance and then the week before the course send me a
desperate e-mail asking to move dates as they haven’t had
time to study due to ‘work pressures.’ Strange really because
that is the very reason they are usually booked on the course,
to get away from their current job.
One of two things have happened here. Either they just
didn’t get themselves organised in time and kept putting
off doing 1 hour reading per day or they really are working
very long hours for extended periods of time. That is a
big problem.
There seems to be an emerging trend of employers almost
expecting their employees to come to work early, work through
their break and then stay late. This is almost always as
a result of bad planning meaning projects run late and well
over budget. The pressure is put upon employees to work
long hours to help salvage the situation.
This of course is to be expected from time to time when
there is some sort of unexpected crisis but it appears to
now be the norm that you HAVE to work long hours and often
for no extra pay. While work cannot legally make you stay
there (unless you are in the armed forces) they can exert
overt pressure by talking about promotion chances, pay
reviews, commitment to the team etc.
I saw it myself at Cisco where some teams regularly worked
7am to 7pm every day. They blamed the workload but when
somebody said something to the management their response
was that all the jobs were being done on time so clearly
they didn’t need any more staff!
Success is multi-faceted and includes good health, family
relationships, friends, social time and your career success
is a part of your success. If you put too much time or
energy into one area then the others will suffer.
I can’t wave a magic wand but I would like you to take a
few minutes to print out this article, read it and then
write out answers to the questions below. It is important
you do write the answers to get them out of your head and
give you something outside yourself to look at.
1. How many hours are you working each day on average?
2. How many hours should you be working?
3. Are long hours the norm or is it just now and again?
4. Are you paid for the extra time you work or given time
off in lieu?
5. How would you rate the level of your health 1 being poor
and 10 being excellent?
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
6. How would you rate the quality of your family relationships
at the moment?
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
7. Are you taking work home with you?
8. What will happen if nothing changes and you carry on as you are
now?
9. Is there anything you need to change now?
10. Who do you need to speak to about this or can you just
make the decision yourself?
11. Do you feel guilty when you leave work on time and others
are choosing to stay and work late?
12. What would happen if you left work on time? Would anyone
make comments or try to judge you? Would any management or
colleagues try to bully you?
13. How happy are you in your current role?
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
14. What needs to change?
15. What action can you take now towards making this change?
16. Who is in control of your life? Circle your choice.
My boss Me My spouse/partner My pet dog Aliens
