work-life identity crisis
This article and this one make good companion pieces about the fuzzy boundary between our personal and professional lives. The first article discusses the scourge of “overwork” in America. As more and more businesses look to boost their bottom line with fewer employees, we’ve seen the advent of a 40+ hour work week that’s invaded our weekend and vacation time. We’re also under the heavy influence of a culture in which people “define themselves by their work” as opposed to their “hobbies and other things.” Because our sense of self is so bound up with our “success in business,” we tend to wear our overwhelm as a badge of honor – as a testament to a job taken seriously and well done. While it attempts to put a humorous spin on this “inability” to distinguish “self from work,” the second article speaks volumes about the current state of our profession when it proclaims: “While it may be mentally healthy to separate practicing law and home life, in many instances it is nearly impossible.”
