Home Time?

Is it a bad thing to take your work home with you?

Some jobs require it. An entrepreneur who has just started her own company will have to work long hours, especially in the first few years of business. A researcher immersed in a particularly difficult problem and accustomed to having work interrupt her sleep, will make sure that a notepad is always ready at her bedside table. And the same applies to journalists looking for a good angle to a story long after they've left the office.

But such strong cases can't be made for every job. And yet, most of us do take work home. It may not be actual, tangible "work" that accompanies us on the ride home, it may just be worry about what tomorrow will bring. Either way, it creeps along and ruins our time off.

What are the common reasons for taking work home?

Yes, we live in a global economy with companies competing with one another throughout the world. Downsizing and layoffs are the order of the day, and there is always pressure to stay current, to increase productivity, and to reduce costs. People are often told that somebody out there can do their job at a lower cost.

When I was in high school, my uncle used to say to me, "If everyone jumped off of a cliff, would you do the same?" Most people put in extra hours these days because they're afraid they'll lose their jobs – not because they're interested in adding to their company's bottom line. But if you let fear become the prime mover behind your work ethic, you won't only be working longer hours, you'll also be cutting corners, playing politics, and stabbing coworkers in the back.

There's nothing wrong with taking work home occasionally. There are, however, a lot of things that can go wrong if it becomes a habit. Overwork often leads to stress, burnout, depression, family problems, and workplace accidents. Two studies published in the April 2001 Journal of Occupational Health Psychology showed that there were higher levels of workplace injuries among employees who worked long, stressful hours because they were afraid of losing their jobs. According to the authors, these workers may feel pressure to "cut safety corners" in order to keep up productivity.

There may not be a problem now, but you may find that you become boring and one-dimensional, that you begin to burn out, that your health begins to suffer, that your dog runs away, and that you're served with divorce papers.

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