There is always a fine line between challenging yourself and overwhelming yourself. Overworking maybe helps you to reach the target but it destroys the quality of work. Study says that human bodies are not designed to work more than 40 hours a week. Our system burnout and quality of work suffer.
Overworking is a plague of the 21st century. Nowadays everyone is glamorizing overworking. This led to an increase in overworking effects on mental health. Healthy, achievable plans can easily help you to achieve targets. It will also help you to maintain qualitative work. Working hard doesn’t mean overworking or burnout.
It is understandable to pull an all-nighter once in a while at work, to meet important deadlines, but making this a regular practice can have adverse effects on people, which are far-reaching on their physical, mental, and social status. The stress induced by these actions becomes a constant state of being; the new forced norm for several working adults.
Yes! Some stress is good for health known as eustress. But distress is also an effect of overworking. Here, we will explore the difference between eustress and distress at work. Better plans and ideas to avoid overworking. Let’s start with acknowledging the effects of overwork on you and your organisation.
Overworking effects on mental health
A healthy work-life is always about balance. Without it, work can create anxiety and detachment. 76% of employees mentioned that the effects of overworking clash with personal relations. It can cause:
- Depression and anxiety
- Emotional exhaustion
- Tension headaches or migraines
- Emptiness or lack of interest in work or home life
- Worsened sleep
These are the main effects of overworking.
Try the 5 steps Easy- Bizzy solution:
- Make a To-Do list
- Keep calm and do meditation
- Tell your mind – Give me A break
- Enjoy your daily routine with soulful music
- Get at least 6 hours of good sleep
- And find fun in your boredom loop
Physical effects of overworking
Effects of overworking not only affect mental health but also physical health. The major physical effect of overworking is body pain. The study says that only due to being unaware of overworking symptoms, 33% of young people are caught in severe body aches very early. Following the below solutions you can save yourself from destruction.
- Don’t aim to accomplish everything in one seating.
- Break the bones! (movement of neck, eyes, hands and back).
- Exercise – take time for basic exercise. It also helps you to stay energized throughout the day.
- Plan your meals. (Eat healthy, overworking leads to overeating. Harmful right? )
- Take a quick walk for coffee or tea with office colleagues while gossiping.
These solutions can help you to get rid of the physical effects of overworking.
Effects of Overworking on Organisation
Overworking employees doesn’t lead to the completion of tasks. It causes loss of productivity, absenteeism, a depressed work environment etc. let’s see in detail.
Presenteeism
Presenteeism is when the office prioritises more than oneself. Employees reported that they worked even when they were sick. Which decreases the quality of work.
Lack of engagement in the work
Overworked employees may lose satisfaction from their achievements. It causes a lack of motivation and frustration.
Leads to reduced output
While having longer work hours is known to increase productivity, this period only lasts for a short while, because people tend to do their best work between two to six hours of their work day. After eight hours of work, fatigue sets in, and productivity levels tend to drop significantly.
Employees are likely to make more mistakes
With excessive overwork comes excessive exhaustion. This makes employees prone to distraction that can lead to frequent blunders, thereby resulting in mammoth losses for the organisation.
Employees are the original wealth of any organisation. You can take care of your employee well being and save them from the effects of overworking.
Solutions
Leadership – Create an environment of trust, transparency and openness in communication. Which helps you to identify burnout in employees. It will be easier to counsel them about it.
Work-life balance – Encourage them to take breaks and days offs. It will help them to get a mental space for other things. Plan flexible work hours.
Share the care – Build a caring culture among everyone. Small talks always help to reduce the stress of other things while working. Which helps employees to focus on current tasks.
Offer perks and benefits – Some extracurricular activities at the workplace can help to build a healthy work environment. Some celebrations of employee achievements, rewarding them with trophies or surprises will maintain work enthusiasm among employees.
Conclusion
The effects of overworking can be harmful to individuals, but they need not turn fatal. Stress can be managed by determining its source, and working towards reducing it. It is necessary for individuals to ask themselves if they really stretch themselves beyond their capacity, if they are doing it out of a need or desire for recognition, or if they are fueling a habit. Most importantly, it is important to switch off from work at the right time and focus on yourself to avoid the distress caused by overworking, as well as its prolonged effects.
Also, keep in mind that Ziqitza Healthcare Ltd. (ZHL) — India’s fastest emergency response service provider operates well—equipped ambulances as part of its prompt EMS that can be availed in case of any cardiac-related emergency, to avoid fatal consequences. Ziqitza also provides health programmes and first-aid training programmes which will train your employees to take physical and emergency care respectively.
Take Rest. Fields that have rested give bountiful crops!