Why Is It Time to Stop Pushing Yourself so Hard at Work?

Believe it or not, most of us have a false belief that we may only succeed if we try to perform really hard at work. By pushing ourselves to our fullest limit, we think that we have done enough for the day to achieve what we sought out for. However, the truth, in reality, is completely different. Instead of doing good for our own physical and mental well being, we are actually damaging ourselves collectively. Americans, by nature, are considered workaholics. They have an innate trait of doing what they have to do compulsively and excessively. And sadly, they never give themselves enough time to think that whether or not, the way they are performing their respective duties is the right way forward. 

They only realize it when they find themselves surrounded by mental illnesses. 

By that time it is usually quite late. It is without a doubt, when you push yourself too hard, you often end up with serious physical and mental consequences which can ultimately result in creating issues. 

The easiest way is to have a chat with your employees and they will express it from their behavior. 

As a leader, it is your responsibility to organize everyone and maintain a nominal productivity but no work is more important than the mental well being and proper health of an individual trying their best. 

What are some of the common observations? Let’s discuss. 

Getting Irritated Easily

Do you observe cranky behavior coming from one of your fellow employees who is always trying to deliver the best of what he or she could? It’s often a clear sign that your employee is experiencing an emotional imbalance. Take some time off from your own responsibilities and spend some time with this particular employee. Have a chat and identify what are the causes behind this changing mood. Sometimes, these problems are personal and one must only require a bit of an intervention and a piece of advice. Other times, it’s the burdening load of work under which he or she feels stressed out. 

When workloads and expectations go beyond, unhappiness and irritability settles in with employees. 

Try to manage workload stresses evenly across all employees so one does not feel overburdened. 

Not Doing Good Enough

Some employees always find themselves under the false belief that they are not putting in their 100%. This thought might attract autocratic leaders who are always trying to get things done their own way, but otherwise, there’s a small chance that they may ever find themselves thinking something like that. Such employees are always trying hard to push themselves to their ultimate limit which drains them emotionally and exhausts them mentally. So let’s say if they are giving their best on day 1 and day 2 of the week, they might not be able to do the same during the latter 3 days of the week. 

When you monitor them closely, you will realize that they don’t even like to celebrate their wins. 

If you find yourself in such an emotional trap, it’s best that you should rebalance the way you work. 

Working Constantly Non-Stop

When people are overworking, they often fail to realize that they have automatically developed a routine, where they often feel that they are subjected to do more all day every day. They develop this urgency of staying constantly connected with their laptops, smartphones, desktops or the relative gadgets through which they perform their day to day activities. In fact, at times it gets so bad, that if they get the chance to sit and take a breather, to them it feels like they are losing precious time and as a result, they often find themselves getting agitated or worried during the free-hours which isn’t good. 

In short, overworked employees/leaders never find themselves in mental peace when they are resting. 

Work is constantly drilled into their personalities and an effort to relax always results in anxiety.  

Going in a Social Life Denial 

Do we find ourselves distancing from our friends and families just because we feel overburdened with work? If there are tasks which compels you to avoid doing the things that matter to you or spend time with the people you enjoy, then it’s not the right thing to do. It’s best that you let go of such work-related responsibilities, and instead on-board other responsibilities that don’t lay too heavy on your shoulders. Somehow, if you’re unable to reverse or repair that damage, you will eventually experience demise in reversing that damage in the long-run. Maybe you will end up creating problems that weren’t even existing in the first place and when you will try to fix them, it just might be too late. 

Now you certainly don’t want that to happen with your life, do you? 

Compromise on self-care and do the things that really matter instead of doing things which do not. 

Does pushing too hard at work harm the way you live your life? Does it cause stresses in your relationship or it affects your mental or physical state of mind? Then it’s pretty evident that you are already aware of what you need to do to resolve this matter once and for all. Quit the tasks or the job that is creating a constant stress and deterioration to your mental well-being and instead, take on new ones. If you are observing the stress build up in any of your subordinates or employees, then as a leader try to identify the possible root cause of the problem and identify an appropriate solution to fix. 

Remember, there’s always a way out. All you have to do is look for it in the right direction!