What’s The True Cost Of Your Job?
How often do you sit back and think about your job? We don’t mean thinking about if you’re enjoying the work or where you think you’ll go in the future: we mean thinking about the nature of your work, and whether it’s having a positive or negative impact on your life. Though it’s our means to a livelihood, that virtue doesn’t automatically mean that our employment is always a good thing. In a lot of cases, it’s the opposite. Below, we take a look at a few ways your job might not as good for you as you think.
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Unhealthy Routines
It’s not easy having a job and staying on top of everything in our lives. We have to work long hours just to keep our heads above water, and when we’re finished for the day, we usually just want to go home and lay facedown on the sofa. But, let’s look at it this way: is that really the correct way to be living? It’s all too easy to fall into an unhealthy routine of going from our bed to our car to our jobs, and then doing the same again eight hours later. And this can do us real harm, as we can see.
Physical Problems
There are two types of work: that in which you’re active, and that in which you’re not. A big percentage of the population falls into the latter category, and it’s causing a whole host of medical problems to become widespread. Things like obesity, heart conditions, and musculoskeletal disorders are serious physical problems that, if go unchecked, can cause death. If you work in an office, it’s important that you fit enough physical exercise into your day, even if it means parking away from your office and walking a little bit to work.
Serious Conditions
Worse yet, some other jobs can cause serious problems to the employee, and there’s nothing that they can do to prevent it because they don’t (or didn’t) know it was happening. Take the example of construction workers who were exposed to asbestos during their career. Now, hundreds of asbestos victims are getting financial compensation from this law firm, but there was nothing the workers could have done in the first place. Mechanics, agriculture workers, and those employed in rubber factories are still significantly more likely to get cancer than other workers.
Mental Well-Being
When we think of our health, we tend to think of our bodies, but this is only half of our health. The other half is our mental well-being, which can be run through the wringer due to our employment. People are working longer hours than ever before, and they’re normally under abnormally high levels of pressure to reach targets. As a result, we have a nation of people who are suffering from depression and other mental health issues. If you’re beginning to feel the strain of your job, it might be time to take a break and start thinking about your mental well-being for a while.
Lost Hours
There’s another factor that we should think about more (but don’t) when it comes to our jobs, and that is how much time it costs us. It’s no longer enough to think about the hours we spend in the office; we also have to factor in how long it takes us to get there and how long we spend thinking about work when we’re not there. If you’re ever called on the phone or check your emails when you’re in your home, then that’s even more time. It might be that you’re spending your whole life “at work”when really you want to be enjoying your life.
What To Do About It
We all need to work. You can’t just quit your job because you feel like it. However, you also don’t need to stay in a job just because you think you should; if you feel that you need to leave to boost other areas of your life, then maybe it’s time you do leave! There are many more options to start again, likely many more than you realize, so don’t rule out quitting the thing that is killing you and doing something more suited to who you are. Nobody ever regrets doing that.
Final Thoughts
In the end, your job is going to account for a massive part of your life. You need to ensure that it’s conducive to a happy, productive, and healthy life. Think about the true cost of your job, and decide if it’s worth the exchange you’re paying.
