#overwork

You are not obliged to make yourself unwell for a job. It doesn't matter how much you love your job, or your coworkers, or your customers/clients/patients, or your boss. You have got to love yourself more. You must prioritise your wellbeing.

You are not morally or ethically obliged to work yourself to exhaustion or breakdown for anyone or anything other than yourself. Yes, even if you're a frontline health worker. Yes, even if you're a first responder. Yes, even if other people's health or lives might depend on it.

Your body and mind need rest and one way or another, sooner or later, it will stop asking and nagging, and start demanding and breaking down. If you work yourself beyond breaking point, and become permanently disabled, you might never be able to work again.

I know healthcare workers are underpaid, understaffed, and underappreciated. I know when your work is saving lives and physically caring for people, you are particularly prone to guilt when resting, and work extra hard and extra long hours because of it. How many lives can you save if you're permanently disabled because of your exhaustion? If someone dies because you're so exhausted you can't function, that is not your fault; that's the fault of the management who wouldn't get you the help you needed.

I know that a lot of jobs expect you to work "reasonable" overtime without ever defining what that is, exactly. "Reasonable" overtime shouldn't interfere with the rest of your life. If you're missing meals, appointments, or sleep, it's not reasonable. If you're so tired that driving home feels dangerous or you're falling asleep on public transport, it's not reasonable. If it is impacting your wellbeing in any way, it's not reasonable. Never, ever, no matter how important you think it is, do unpaid overtime. If you are working, you deserve compensation. If they expect unpaid overtime to make their profit margins work, that's a problem with their business model.

If your job doesn't have enough staff, and you work extra hard to close the gap, stop. Don't close the gap. If you close the gap, even if you're complaining about it to management the whole time, management will consider the gap closed, and won't do anything about it.

This all goes double if you work for a profitable corporation. If they're profitable because they're understaffed, that's a problem with their business model. If they're understaffed because they won't offer high enough wages, that's a problem with their business model. If you can't complete your duties in the allotted time, and you've told management that it's not possible, and they haven't done anything about it? That's not your problem, it's theirs.

If you don't let it be a problem for management, they'll never act.

An update on my current employment situation. Not only is my manager still not back from vacation, but I also yelled at my coworker. I hate Capitalism. I will tell that story as I stream Stardew Valley. Just a short late night stream. I am also fundraising for my disabled friends in need. Come and join me. Ask me anything.

(!13+) I still don't know if I will have a job in 2026? Update. | !freepalestine | !fundraising for !comrades | !share | !ama

I lost my cool again at work.

Me: "Why is there always this rush at the end of the month? What does it matter that something is shipped out on the 30th instead of the 1st?" Coworker: "Us having a job." Me: "Is that okay? Why do we accept this? Why do we have to work a job in order to live?" Other Coworker: "It is just the way it is." Me, angry: "JUST BECAUSE IT IS THE WAY IT IS DOESN'T MAKE IT OKAY!!!! DO I HAVE TO ACCEPT THAT??!??! IS TELLING ME TO CLAM DOWN GOING TO WORK?!?!?!"