- Are you the employee who regularly works after hours, on weekends and holidays, and who doesn’t take vacations?
- Do you eat lunch at your desk or skip meals, get less than 7 hours of sleep, or feel stressed when you think about your workload?
- Do you feel like you’re married to your job?
- Do you detest Mondays and live for Fridays?
We live in a society that encourages competition and overworking. In fact, being overworked is often seen as a badge of honor. Society often confuses overworking with having a strong work ethic, however, being overworked leads to fatigue, stress and overwhelm due to heavy workloads and long hours spent at work. Work ethic is a set of behaviors that lead to quality performance including high productivity, dependability, collaboration and professionalism.
When you are pushed beyond a reasonable number of work hours, given impossible deadlines, or forced to choose between your work and your family, it affects your ability to do a good job and to manage our time well. In fact, the longer you work, the less productive you become. Overworked employees are also at risk for stress-related illnesses. Employees who are overworked often become irritable and angry. Let’s change the narrative.
If you experience any of these warning signs, it’s time to take corrective action before professional burnout sets in.
Wondering what you can do? Unsure how you are going to ensure that you are doing work that you love, in an environment that brings out the best in you, for the salary that you desire and deserve? Strategies to avoid professional burnout include setting an end time for your work, practicing quality self-care, having hobbies outside of work, and working with a plan and purpose? If your job has set a standard and expectation of competition and working insane hours, it may be time to seek new employment.
If you need help developing your career goals, implementing a career development strategy, or holding yourself accountable as you pursue your career goals? I got you! It’s what I love! It’s what I do!
I’m ready to provide the career resources and support that you need to take your career to the next level and go from overworked, underpaid, and unappreciated to energized, well-paid, and appreciated.
Nicki Sanders, MSW, CEO, is a Career and Empowerment Strategist who helps high-performing women of color in management go from overworked, underpaid, and unappreciated to energized, well paid, and appreciated. Through Nicki Sanders Leadership Consulting, she also helps businesses recruit, hire, train, and retain great employees. Nicki has an extensive background in developing and managing successful programs and leading high-functioning multi-disciplinary teams. She is an accomplished professor, coach, trainer, and group facilitator who has combined her gift for authentic relationships, Master of Social Work degree, and over 20 years of diverse work experience to create a life she loves. Nicki is a lover of cupcakes, travel, and 80’s hip hop and R&B music.
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