So… I jumped the gun last week and wrote about this week’s topic!  I really confused everyone!  This week, I think I will just talk about work in general.  When’s the last time you met someone who thought they were underworked? I haven’t met anyone who describes himself in that manor either.  All of us see parts of our job that aren’t really in our job description or parts that we end up having to do after the workday ends to fulfill the requirements. 

   A few years back, the administrators in our area panicked because a new idea was threatening to become law.  The law would be that teachers had to be able to accomplish all of their work within the workday.  They could NOT take homework home.  The public schools in our area took all teachers’ keys to the building away from them so that they could not come back up after hours to do homework.  Thank heavens someone came to his sense and didn’t pursue this law.  There is no way to be a good teacher and make this happen.  If one is a good teacher, he is interacting with students throughout the lesson, not sitting at his desk grading.  An elementary teacher might be able to get all grading done in a planning period, but secondary papers take hours and hours to grade.  Thus, the need to take homework home.

   Even if there is not paperwork involved, you know doctors take home thoughts about what a particular case might be.  Scientists think of alternative variable they can use to test their theories the next day.  And social workers keep up with kids they’ve places and people they help.  Pretty much anyone who doesn’t do a repetitive task for work ends up “working” overtime.

   When did this begin?  I think it became a real trend in the 90’s when everyone was “down-sizing.”  I think bosses found a way to pile on more jobs without having to hire another employee by telling the employee that the company has to downsize, and we all have to pitch in to make up for the fewer workers.  We thought it was a temporary fix, but we’re still living it!

   For this reason, it is so very important to set up boundaries.  The boundaries cannot be unrealistic.  The work will have to get done, so just NOT doing it is not an option… at least, not if you want to keep that job!  But making a set day or time when you stop working and do something else is great for you.

   I know, I know.  I’m sitting here on a Sunday evening after another tough weekend of working both days.  Physician, heal thyself.  Can’t.  That would be even more working!  Lol!

-          Michelle