Many people would say that they're overworked. They walk into the office every day and not only is there far too much to do, there is the expectation that they'll put their head down and get work done until they're so exhausted that they're nothing more than a husk that heads home to rest and repeat the process tomorrow.
The truth about overwork is that it's a systematic issue. The system of work around us wants us to believe that we picked our life. When your school has been underfunded and the life you were born into contains food wastelands, and jobs are scarce because factories were shut down while the C Suite got bonuses, what choices did you truly have? When owners are touting the benefits of AI and automation to their workers they're looking to increase the feelings precarious of employment so that you continue to give most of your life to work. They want you to feel lucky that you even have a job.
Overwork is a systematic issue, but much like BP Oil did with your "personal carbon footprint", jobs want you to think it's a personal issue. There is a whole industry of social media gurus that make a living showing you the next trick they swear by. That next thing that will make you more productive. That will help you stand above your colleagues so that when automation hits your industry, you'll be the one left with a job.
None of these gurus with millions of followers work a traditional job. They don't have a boss. They may their own hours and can do what they want as they create content for you. Their advice is just nebulous enough that when it doesn't work in your job you're left feeling like you didn't quite do it right. It couldn't be that your favourite guru with 1 Million followers has no idea what they're talking about, it's that you didn't get the point and execute it well.
Better head off and watch another video or buy their upcoming book.
The system wants us to believe that we made a choice to overwork ourselves, but everything from Puritan Work Ethic, to the cultural desire to buy stuff we don't need to impress people we don't even like with money we don't have...keeps us working and thinking it's our fault that we are so tired all the time.
I don't have a solution to this. To change the system we need around 25% of the population to be committed enough to change that they're willing to do something, like protest in the streets or saying no to their bosses who then can't find a replacement that will say yes.
But, it's not your fault. The system we work in is designed to overwork you. It's designed to push you to the limit and make you think that you're the one whose doing something wrong.
