Living Life or Living Work?
by Miki Saxon
It used to be that work was part of life.
As tech connectivity increased, it became more life is part of work.
Now, instead of a work/life discussion, it’s a work/work conversation.
A year ago I wrote about Millennial optimization and burnout.
This year engineers are talking about how founders take advantage of it and that working for a big company is a viable alternative.
It’s a convenient narrative for the founders and CEOs who count on employees to put in extra hours—often without extra compensation—in order to keep their companies afloat. (…) Basecamp founder and CEO Jason Fried noted on Twitter, “If your company requires you to work nights and weekends, your company is broken. This is a managerial problem, not your problem.”
Working extra long hours was considered the way to get ahead, but it was also the road to burnout.
So, what’s changed in a year?
The advice to get ahead.
Instead of working long hours, nights and weekends for others the recommendation is to use all those unpaid hours working for yourself.
The answer may vary depending on the specifics of your job. But in general, you’re far more likely to get ahead by channeling your enthusiasm and ambition toward your own independent projects—not the company’s. (…) That is, after all, how many founders and CEOs achieved their own success. (…) Other ambitious young people may find that the best way to advance their careers is to dedicate their free time not to the jobs they have, but to the jobs they want.
In other words, continue with the 80-100 hour weeks, just shift part of those hours to your own projects.
Great advice.
Doing so would mean there’s a second party responsible (blamable) for your depression/anxiety/burnout/atrophied social skills/blown relationships/etc.
The truth is that whether those 80-100 hours is for yourself, someone else, or split, they will ruin your health and, eventually, your life.
Image credit: andrew leddy
