Tag Archives: overtime

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Shift Work Hours – Are You Spending Too Much Time At Work?

Now working shift work hours is bad enough, but are you spending way too much time at work as well?

You see I remember when I was much younger – some time ago when I was in my twenties – I used to work crazy and irregular hours, but they were also LONG.

I would happily put my name down to do some overtime and not batter an eye-lid at the thought of working a 0400-1600 shift. You’ve got to love those 12 hour shifts – not.

But fast forward 10 years or so, I made a decision to work my rostered shift and that was that. Yes the extra money was always nice, but at what cost? You can push yourself to work hard for awhile, but eventually your body will say “enough is enough!”

I for one, wanted to get in first and not give my body the satisfaction of telling me so.

So I made a decision to make my health – my PRIORITY.

Shift work hours are hard enough to get used too, in fact you may even work permanent night shifts or 12 hours shifts because a lot of work environments these days expect their staff to be willing to put in the long hours and commit to the job. But this in effect can be counterproductive – especially if you’re sleep deprived to begin with.

When you try and push yourself too hard, your productivity decreases. Which if a lot of businesses realised this, they would think twice about making their staff work 12 hour shifts.

* Recovery time is so important.

* Spending time with your friends and family is so important.

* Undertaking regular exercise is so important.

* And having the time to undertake fun activities outside of work is also so important.

So take a look at your shift work hours. If you are choosing to make them longer by doing a lot of unnecessary overtime, then it might be time to reassess your life and where you’re going.

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Are You Spending Way Too Much Time At Work?

Do you come home feeling tired and exhausted from spending way too much time at work? Are you addicted to doing copious amounts of overtime that you walk in the door only to fall in a heap just like this cat?

If you said ‘yes’ then read on.

You see I was sitting on the couch the other night watching a bit of TV (which by the way is extremely rare for me to do), and an interesting program caught my eye.

It was called ‘No Leave, No Life’.

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The actual title of program (http://www.noleavenolife.com/) really caught my eye because I thought – how true a statement is that!?
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You really do have no life if you have no leave or time off, built into it.
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Now the program centres around people who have worked tirelessly for years without taking any time off. They are given a surprise when the host of the program arrives in their workplace and whisks them away on a well deserved mini-break.
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With their respective partners in tow, they are treated like royalty as they soak up the atmosphere at idyllic locations around Australia. It’s a real wake-up call to highlight the importance of taking some time out to enjoy some ‘R&R’ and that there is certainly more to life than just work, work, work!

Now I’m not saying that working hard is bad. On the contrary, if you work very hard it can lead you to some fantastic opportunities.

But it’s all about striking that right balance because hard work can certainly be detrimental to your well-being. You see, when you become a work-a-holic you tend to give up your hobbies and forget how to enjoy life. Life isn’t meant to be all work and no play – it’s imperative that you readjust your scales and incorporate more ‘fun’ back into your life!

Here’s some interesting facts that might help you to reduce your time at work.

1. According to a 2002 study in the British Medical Journal, employees with stressful jobs are twice as likely to die from heart disease as those who have jobs with little or no stress.

2. Employees who work over forty-eight hours per week double their risk of heart disease, according to a 1996 UK government report.

3. According to a 2003 American study, long-term job strain is worse for your heart than gaining forty pounds in weight or aging thirty years.

So the key is simply not to overdo things. Go into work, do the best job that you possibly can and then come home and spend some time with your family and friends.

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Take your days off – don’t keep putting your hand up to do overtime, week in and week out.
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The extra money can be great, but if you’re not around to enjoy it then what’s the point.
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