Workaholism is a very sensitive issue. And more often for the people around the workaholic than for himself. Workaholism is dozens of hours spent at work, bypassing family, hobbies, hobbies. Alena Vladimirskaya, a recruiting expert and founder of the Anti-Slavery project, talks about how not to let work replace life.
Sad but true: most people in Russia perceive work as their main “habitat”. This is especially true in big cities. I hope no one needs to be explained that the principle “I live to work” is fundamentally wrong? Work is part of life. Big, important, but not the main one.
Work should be a means, not an end.
How not to become a workaholic in our time?
Just like in any other. It is important to clearly understand one simple thing: why you work. Try to answer this question as honestly as possible. Throughout your life, your goals may change: at one stage you can work for a career, fame, fame, at another — for the sake of socialization, at the third — for the sake of money.
Why set goals? To move towards them in the right way and do it most effectively.
What is the purpose of your life at this stage, and in the context of this purpose, what can work give you? This is the most important, key question. And that is why work is not an end in itself, but a means to an end.
Life should not become synonymous with work. Nowadays, we have to keep a close eye on this.
Suppose the purpose of your life is children, their upbringing. Then work as a means to achieve this goal suggests that you need a certain level of income: to provide children with everything they need, to give them a quality education, to buy good books. At the same time, you should have time to communicate with the child and read these same books to him, because the time spent together is one of the main components of education.
Or, for example, your goal is glory. You are striving for a career take-off, so you spend maximum time on work — conditionally, 14 hours a day. But here it is important to ask yourself the question: what is all this for? To open your own business, create something new. Once a goal is reached, you set a new one and review your work in the context of the new goal.
Once again, life should not become synonymous with work. In our time, this has to be monitored especially closely, but if work does not become such a substitute process, then a person will not become a workaholic. But he is waiting for a balanced and enjoyable life.
However, do not take these tips literally: it’s okay if for several years work takes up most of your life, especially if you are young, recently graduated from college and are looking for yourself. This is a natural inclusion in life, embedding in the workflow. But you need to understand why it happens, and make sure that this period is not too long. And also — to be able to effectively relax. But that’s a completely different story.