How important is your job to you? I have encountered plenty of workaholics in my life. I have close friends back at home who have worked at investment banks where working back-to-back 100 hours a week is not unusual. I’ve had bosses who call me at 10 pm on a Saturday while on vacation to discuss the next site visit. I have friends in Aceh who work six-and-half days a week and toil until 2am revising work plans. With the tsunami rebuilding process being one of the most highly scrutinized humanitarian recovery efforts in history, organizations are under a tremendous amount of pressure to deliver deliver deliver – from the number of houses that are under construction, to how many latrines you’ve built, to how many coconut seedlings you’ve provided, to how many temporary employment opportunities you’ve created. The monitoring indicators are endless and the pressure is often intense from headquarters and donors.
Most people are well informed of the level of pressure involved in the job before signing their name on that contract. But what happens when you have an intense workload and want a life too? Or do you instead feel like you’ve overcommitted yourself and find yourself not doing either very well? Waking up at 3am worrying if you did your best on that proposal because you feel guilty for going out for beers? Cancel dinner plans with friends because you have to submit that report to that demanding 50-yr divorced workaholic boss who doesn’t have a life?
Is it possible to be successful at both?
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