Work-Life Balance

The Dangers of Being a Workaholic & How to Find a Healthy Work-Life Balance

87% of working adults admit that they overwork!

How much do we overwork?

• 5+ hours: 39.2%
• 2-5 hours: 35%
• Less than 1 hour: 13.1%
• 0 hours: 12.7%

Are You a Workaholic?

According to Workaholics Anonymous, if you answer yes to 3 or more of the following questions, you may be a workaholic.

Do You:

• Skip your lunch brake and do work instead?
• Have trouble in any of your relationships as a result of your long hours of work?
• Find yourself constantly thinking about work, when you aren’t at work?
• Feel stressed when you are not at work?
• Feel exhausted, burnt out or run down?
• Hide your work from your loved ones?
• Become irritated when others (i.e. family/friends) ask you to stop working in order to do something else?
• Take your work home with you?
• Work on weekends and/or vacation?
• Work more than 40 hours per week?
• Turn your hobbies into money-making ventures?
• Often get home late due to your workload?
• Justify working long hours?
• Constantly overbook yourself?
• Work while you are eating?

The Impact of Workaholism

Pros:

• Sense of pride
• Increased income
• Experience & skills

Cons:

• Accelerated aging
• Burnout and exhaustion
• Strained relationships
• Higher levels of stress
• Higher heart attack risk
• Increased risk of diabetes
• Decreased emotional well-being

Conclusion: The cons of being a workaholic far outweigh the benefits. Furthermore, Workaholics lead a life that sacrifices health for wealth.

For 87% of men and women, work affects their health in a negative way.

STRESS

• Men: 58%
• Women: 67%

HEADACHES

• Men: 43%
• Women: 54%

TENSION

• Men: 34%
• Women: 44%

WEIGHT GAIN

• Men: 37%
• Women: 44%

DEPRESSION

• Men: 28%
• Women: 29%

Prioritize Health Over Wealth

A wealth man can’t buy his health; But a healthy man will always have time to find wealth.

The Optimal Balance

The ideal healthy work-life balance would look like this:

• Health: 34%
• Family & Friends: 29%
• Career: 24%
• Other: 8%
• Fitness: 5%

This weekly balance includes a 40hr work week, five 1 hour workouts, 8 hours of sleep per night, and a few hours to prepare healthy meals for the week.

How to Achieve “The Balance”

• Don’t work more than 40 hours per week
• Avoid bringing your work home with you
• Get 7-8 hours of sleep each night
• Exercise for 30-60 minutes, 3-5 days a week
• Don’t skip breakfast
• Prepare healthy meals for the week
• Make time for family & friendships
• Get a physical exam each year

The Important of Being Active: For the Sedentary Workaholic

FACT: The average american is sedentary for 21 hours per day; and only active for 3 hours!

Just 30 minutes of intense cardiovascular exercise immediately reduces body tension. Furthermore, weightlifting is shown to neutralize anxiety and depression.

Sitting for Long Periods of Time Contributes to:

• Lower metabolism
• Increased risk of heart attack
• Increased risk of stroke
• Lower life expectancies
• Larger Bottoms!

FACT: People with sitting jobs have twice the rate of cardiovascular disease as people with standing jobs!

AS SOON AS YOU SIT:

• Electrical activity in the leg muscles shut off
• Calorie burning drops to 1 calorie per minute
• Enzymes that help break down fat drop 90%

AFTER 2 HOURS:

• Good Cholesterol drops 20%

AFTER 24 HOURS:

• Insulin effectiveness drops 24% and risk of diabetes increases

What to Do if You Have an 8-Hour-a-Day Desk Job?

For many of us, sitting for 8 hours a day at our job is inevitable. But it’s the extra sitting outside of work that turns a serious problem, deadly. So … interrupt sitting whenever you can!

• Stand at least once an hour
• Sit on an exercise ball instead of a desk chair
• Walk around the office whenever you can, or take a walk on your lunch break