Americans work some of the longest hours compared to other countries. On an average, full-time workers may clock up more than 40 hours a week, which may cost us our personal lives, and physical and mental health. Depending up on the stages of our careers, some of us may find it rewarding to spend those extra hours at work. However, a research by beyondblue reveals that 50 percent of the working population would rather enjoy spending more time with their families if they could work less. Twenty-five percent are experiencing work stress (read our blog on work stress for a deeper dive), and many are suffering from insomnia. The heavy and unrelenting workload may spill into our personal time, causing stress, thus leading to depression and anxiety. The Australian Institute encourages everyone to call it a day at their rostered time, promoting this as “Go Home On Time Day”, which is in its seventh year now. How to “MAKE IT HAPPEN” Does it sound exciting to you that even you can actually go home on time from work, without having to stretch on a daily basis, spending long hours at work? Wondering if that is reality or fiction? Thinking it is too good to be true? Well, it is actually a goal that is achievable, with some conviction and planning of course. You will no longer have to sit back in office, staring at that watch, your system and those empty chairs around you. Let me now help you out a bit with some tips that can actually make it happen:
- Plan out your day
Right from opening your eyes to sunlight in the morning, you can actually work towards having a better planned day. If you have surrendered and prepared your mind that you will work an extended shift, you tend to be less productive the whole day. Make a to-do list early in the morning, jotting down all that is planned for the day. Prioritize your tasks at hand, and stick to your timeline to make sure you can call it a day with the end of your work hours.
- Avoid eating lunch at your desk
Sounds counterintuitive? Want to utilize your work hours to the maximum? We are heading the right way. If you take a lunch break away from the usual job stress, it helps you to power-up through the afternoon.
- Plan Fun-Time after work
Planning a fun-engagement post-work will keep you motivated to leave work on time. You can meet a friend for dinner, plan for a movie with family, or even have a regular schedule for an exercise or a dance class (this is also a great stress buster). Company progresses when its employees progress A research clearly states that the majority (55-60 percent) of Americans doing extra hours do so to meet their job expectations. However, these expectations should be discussed and aligned at the very start of an employment by the employers and the employees. Employers at times ramp up the workloads of their present workforce sighting short-term benefits of profit. This, in the long run, goes against their expectations as the productivity of overworked and over-stressed employees take a nose-dive later. Also, the organization then has to face costs in the form of absenteeism, and compensation claims arising from physical injuries, mental health conditions, or both. This sets back businesses big time. In the end, leaving work on time is not impossible, but rather easy if you know how to manage your time, and have a good work-life balance. The benefits of leaving work on time always outweigh the short-term career goals.
