Deadlines, errands, assignments, meeting s — these are not inconveniences. Rather they are our lives. With living comes working, and naturally these things follow. Americans are constantly on the run — we balance a career with a social life and a family.
However, is there a point when the workload becomes unhealthy?
According to NationMaster, at the turn of the millennium, our country was the second most overworked — coming in behind Japan, more than two-thirds of workers work more than 40 hours. And things have only gotten busier. Perhaps necessary to a support a family, so much time spent working leaves little to no time for relaxing the body and mind.
We live in an astonishingly competitive country. It is competitive to the point where even if one’s utmost diligence and talent is demonstrated, it might not be enough. Is there really a point in pushing ourselves to our breaking point in an attempt to achieve a possibly unattainable goal?
We seem to have forgotten the importance of refueling. Anything remotely pleasurable or seemingly unproductive is considered “lazy.”
I have personally witnessed friends competing to see who could take on the most in terms of classes, extracurricular activities, internships and jobs.
It seems we subscribe to the distorted idea that our success is measured by our stress level.
John De Graaf, the national coordinator of the TAKE BACK YOUR TIME initiative, told swcollege.com, “In Europe, workers receive an average six weeks of paid vacation. We Americans average two. And 26 percent of us got no vacation at all last year.”
True to De Graaf’s quote, NationMaster showed Europeans working much less than Americans.
Why is it that our ideals differ so greatly from those of other countries? Maybe it is partially due to our competitive nature, or perhaps our cost of living is that much greater. Regardless, there is no arguing that overworked Americans need to slow down before physically combusting.
College students in particular have it rough. The pressure we face is no secret, and it is not disappearing anytime soon. The cliché of the overworked, rundown college overachiever could not be more real than it is today.
Nearly every successful college student is this way due to time-consuming obligations and a heavy course load. It is expected that after a semester is finished, the number of “all-nighters” pulled and caffeinated beverages consumed is uncountable.
With the school year coming to a close, I cannot help but wonder how many students and professors will continue the same stressful path into the summer. Even though classes will not be in session, other jobs and activities will.
I find it difficult to sometimes slow down, take a deep breath, and ask myself, “Will the outcome even be worth what I am putting myself through?”
If the answer to this very necessary question is no, something is to be said for that. Stress is a natural part of life, but nothing is worth lifelong discontent.
As smart as we think our plans for success are, it may be smarter to just take a nap.
Contact Isabelle at inovak@asu.edu
