Perspectives on Workload Overload

It’s ages old and was certainly here well before the Industrial Revolution of the early 1800s. So, it’s not what a lot of people think and a sign of the tremendously busy age we live in, yet we could be guilty of trying to do more with less... it’s workload overload -- the greatest single cause of burnout.

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I know of people in lower management positions doing seventy hours per week. Those above them are doing that and more in some cases. Some apparently do it for the sheer thrill, some for the kudos, some more for the spark of achievement; some also for the adrenalin... and some do it because they plain love their work and co-workers and company. Yet, it’s known to be unhealthy!

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Workload overload is a symptom of rank foolishness, yet we see it everywhere. At its core it is a very real example of insanity as people try and extract from themselves and others ‘superhuman’ levels of achievement; all driven by machismo -- an exaggerated or exhilarating sense of power or strength -- featured in males and females alike. Of course, we’re blessed with so much ability. We can extract marvellous feats from our bodies and minds. Unfortunately, due to greed or lack of courage or other vice or misshapened virtue, we often abuse it. Then what we get is eventual burnout -- it may not occur for several years, but it does eventually come. And that’s what marks it as foolish.

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A golden rule for life is balance. Balance in physical, mental, emotional / social / psychological and spiritual health. This is the key to life. We get little lasting reward from going overboard in any one area -- it’s just not sustainable.

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Achieving this golden rule is not hard but it does require commitment to change and maintenance:

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1. We must make time for our spirit.

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We operate best when we’re calm, and we should be predominantly calm. Operating on adrenalin, whilst exhilarating, is dangerous to our longer term health. Making time spiritually is also the best way to get to know ourselves -- and importantly our limits.

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2. Increase and sustain physical fitness.

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Being physically fit is an elixir really like no other. It serves us in all other health areas, not just physically. We should devote at least thirty (30) minutes a day to exercise that gets our heart rate elevated and our breathing lightly puffing.

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3. Say no to overload demands -- both to ourselves and others.

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The only way we know our true thresholds for work, and then beyond to overload, is to at once, slow down, get in tune with our spirit, then take it from there. It is okay and acceptable to respond to an emergency every now and then, even daily. What’s not okay is having no downtime. Every human being should be able to work in peace the majority of the time; the exception to this might be the emergency services. But these people don’t work under pressure all the time. They have significant down time, or should do.

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The best manifestation of wisdom is to be steadfastly true to the spirit within. The benefits are truly global in nature and are so inextricably personal; we only get one chance at this life. Why would we throw that away for something as perishable as superficial achievements or feelings? This issue is not about the company. It’s personal.

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Copyright © 2008, S. J. Wickham. All Rights Reserved Worldwide.