I recently met a young member of my extended family who was looking overweight and out of shape, with deteriorating posture. It was a shocker because as a kid, he was solidly built like a rock and was very sporty.
I asked him, “What happened?”
He said he was working long hours and late nights. And working from home meant that there was no work-life separation. So he would be responding to emails late at night.
But when I asked him how much REAL work he has, he said, “The core work does not need more than 5-6 hrs.” Rest was just people bouncing ideas, messages, emails, etc.
End result: No exercise, no relaxation, just a continuous cycle of “Work, sleep, repeat.”
And this is not an exception — lots of people are going through this endless cycle of grind.
Companies spend enormous amounts on business strategy, operational efficiency, HR, etc. They even invest in ‘Great place to work’ certification!
But is it not the time to also actively design the work environment, to eliminate waste, unnecessary interruptions, and fake work?
Glorifying mindless grind is wrecking the health and happiness of youngsters.
Just because we can get away with something, doesn’t mean we should. Do the right thing. Stop this madness.
– Rajan