The Ugly Truth

Is it really that bad?

On the face of it, modern work is overbearing. The deadlines, the superiors, the necessity of it all - it can become too much at times. It's easy to become wrapped up in something that plays such a large part of your life and put work on a pedestal however it's important to take a step back once in a while to gain some perspective and ask the question "Is work really that bad?"

Work is terrifying! Or is it?

Remember when you were a child and knew your parents would find out when you did something wrong, "Oh no! My parents are going to kill me!". Think back to those feelings you experienced then, as if the world as you knew it would end...

Of course it didn't, but at the time it certainly felt as if it would. Seemingly the same happens in our adult lives, the difference between now and then is that we convince ourselves that our responsibilities now are more important than as a child. However if we were to analyse it our adult working lives have more in common with our childhoods than we might think.

In both our childhoods and working lives we build up both our parents and employers to be something they aren't. Yes both of these provide for us in different ways however there's no need to fear consequences or retribution, simply to acknowledge it in respect of those providers.

Building work up to be an evil entity benefits no one, it simply results in negative feelings towards the workplace causing a need to escape it. When it comes down to it, work isn't the be all and end all of our lives and it's good for us to realise that. If you make a mistake at work, it's generally not the end of the world but simply a learning curve to be overcome. It's difficult to condition ourselves not to put work on a pedestal, but with a bit of practice it's worth it for a happier working life.