60+ hour workweeks

[meloncap78]

For the past 3 months I have been pulling 60+ hour weeks. I usually go in around 3:30pm and I leave by 4:30-5am sometimes 5:30-6 depending on the workload. I need some input from seasoned workaholics. I value my playtime and I’m really starting to lose myself. I have been missing a ton of time in my home gym, generally not sticking to my diet, sleeping on and off and constantly feeling fatigued. I feel as though 5 days of my week are just sleep and work. I was talking to my parents the other day about it and their response was “you’re lucky to have a job during these times”. I’m starting to feel like my mental health is more important than whatever this rabbit hole is that I’m going down. Can anyone else relate or do I just need to pull up my bootstraps and man up?

[alpharulez]

I hear you. If you have an option of taking a break to stop burn out then do it. Classic signs of burn out. Peaks are ok in this day and age to push through. Also take care of your mental health. Hope things change for the positive for you


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[superdog]

Can’t relate.

I’m up and working everyday at 5:00. Work until about 9:30 every night.

Granted, I fit gym and other things on the middle. But I’m always on. Checking and responding to email and phone calls.

I like it this way. I prefer it. But I do mix personal into it. I just make sure I am “on” at all times.

[White Collar Boy]

Hi Joshua. I am not a workaholic but am a busy person, and I think you need to do some self care rather than pushing through. There’s no shame in taking a break, and/or negotiating for a better work/life balance.

Good luck and take care.

[DLRIDES]

Originally Posted by meloncap78

For the past 3 months I have been pulling 60+ hour weeks. I usually go in around 3:30pm and I leave by 4:30-5am sometimes 5:30-6 depending on the workload. I need some input from seasoned workaholics. I value my playtime and I’m really starting to lose myself. I have been missing a ton of time in my home gym, generally not sticking to my diet, sleeping on and off and constantly feeling fatigued. I feel as though 5 days of my week are just sleep and work. I was talking to my parents the other day about it and their response was “you’re lucky to have a job during these times”. I’m starting to feel like my mental health is more important than whatever this rabbit hole is that I’m going down. Can anyone else relate or do I just need to pull up my bootstraps and man up?

Very subjective issue, pending one’s perspective, background, age, means, goals, and personality type. Most posters will claim a 10 hour work week and 7-digit salaries ................

When in my twenties, I worked mon - thurs ten hour shifts, fri - sun ten hour shifts, and community college four nights a week for four years to acquire a simple associates degree. Several years after, while working my way up the ladder, continued working part-time jobs until early thirties. This was required, to raise a family, achieve goals, and made me appreciate life in a way most can’t. So, a sixty hour week sounds normal to me in the early years of life.

Analyze your future goals, what it takes to achieve them, allow some time for personal activities, and proceed as needed.

PS - I was raised on a farm, and my dad would have considered a sixty hour week a vacation.

[brandrea]

Great post Joshua, it’s good to talk about it.

I’m curious: how old are you? What line of work are you in? Do you enjoy/find fulfillment from your work?

I’m 53 now, but in my early work career I did put in some long hours for extended periods of time. When I started my own company I was always “on” just like Seth said in the post above. Now a little older and perhaps some wiser, I realize it was all part of my journey.

I’m semi retired now, with lots of time for the routine things I used to fit into my work day. The thought of 60 hours of work in one week now makes my head hurt. I routinely say to my wife, “how did I used to have time for this?”

Things I did in my earlier years to help with long hours, fatigue and stress were (and still are): a healthy diet, exercise every day, read/meditate/contemplate/, and stretch, (ya I know that last one is a bit weird) I made these things part of my daily routine. For me and the way I’m dialed, these things have to be a routine part of my day. Same time, same duration, every day, or it just doesn’t work. They are not optional.

The best thing you can do is talk about it. Don’t bury it. You’ll find your way, just don’t forget to do something every day that makes you smile.

[meloncap78]

Thanks for the responses. I think that what makes the situation worse overall for me is that my work is not at all fulfilling. It is fast paced management dealing with grown men that act like children with bad manners and constant sarcasm. Add a ton of paperwork and a micromanaging director on top and it’s miserable. I think maybe the shift doesn't help either. I have hobbies that fulfill my real interests but i haven’t had much time for them lately. Usually if I feel like it I will get out of work roughly 5-6am, home between 5:15-6:15, eat a preworkout meal, hit the gym (little over an hour) then post workout meal. 3 days a week I like to hit a 15-20 mile bike ride. This puts me in bed around 7:30-8am. Sleep till 2:30 then up, quick breakfast, prepare meals for work then off to the races. I have tried going directly to bed when I get home but it’s impossible for me.

[3 Putt]

As you say: Pull up your bootstraps and man up. At least for now. I am sure others will talk about life balance and other Pollyanna ideals. But you need to ask yourself what you hope to accomplish in a career.

If an 8-5 job with no responsibility outside of these hours is what you seek, then finding life balance is pretty simple. If you have loftier goals, there is no shortcut. You will have to outwork others to grow professionally. There is always a way to prioritize and execute. It is not easy, but that is why so many people fail at it. And depending on your age and family status, the priorities will change over the years. Good luck!

[White Collar Boy]

Originally Posted by meloncap78

I’m starting to feel like my mental health is more important than whatever this rabbit hole is that I’m going down.

Your mental health is more important. Hopefully you can refresh somehow, or set a timeframe for riding this out, or find something you enjoy. Sorry to hear about the director.

[JParm]

I went from being on all the time as a pilot to now doing 40-hour work weeks, and there's a reason why I opted for my current line of work.

I absolutely value my personal / family time over anything else, and while I agree that it's a tough time to go searching for a job, I wouldn't keep doing what I was doing if I was getting slammed with 60+ hour work weeks. Personally, I'd do my best to find another route to enjoy your time better.

[Etschell]

night shifts are tough. no way i would do it unless i had no other choice.

i work a lot as well. almost every day some amount of work. you just have to balance as much as you can in the busier times. no reason you cant keep your diet in check during those times. heck i got a family with kids and i can do it (not sure if you do).

in the not as busy times do fun stuff and enjoy your down time.

some days im working for 7 AM to 11 PM.

[m j b]

I occasionally joke that I'm not paid very well, but then I don't work real hard. If the job is not fulfilling as you write, and it's affecting you physically, it's time to move on.

Life is too short to be miserable.

[uscmatt99]

I see where you're coming from OP. Working nights is miserable. Working nights doing something unfulfilling is even more miserable. I don't think it's the amount of time you're working that is killing you, its the type of work and affect it has on your non-working life that's killing you. In your situation I'd be very tempted to seek other employment.

On the flip-side, long-ish hours doing something you love that allows for a semblance of a personal life isn't a bad gig. I work 50-60 hours a week, in terms of being on the clock for that duration, but a fraction of that time is really just being available instantly and tied to a desk without actually producing anything. That's when I can cruise TRF, take care of chores if I happen to be working from home, make phone calls, etc. If I had to spend 50-60 hours per week doing non-stop assembly line type of work I'd cry myself to sleep every day.

[HHIslander]

It sounds like the source of your stress is more from the job itself other than hours.

As a 50+ year old guy who has worked 60+ hours since 1990, I would suggest that you focus on finding a better job that gets you off the night shift. I've done that before and it takes a certain mentality to be able to do pull it off for a long period of time. If you don't have that mentality, it's not going to work. Working with asshats doesn't help either.

I work from 4AM Monday to 4PM thursday and 6 hours on Friday. If I'm not working, I'm either cooking/eating, sleeping, working out or in the shower. I love what I do, so it doesn't really feel like "work."

I would focus my energies on finding another job. Until you can make that happen, bootstraps. :) Good luck.

[dddrees]

I also put in my hours early.

Work smarter not harder. Look for and keep your eyes open for ways to reduce those hours by being more effective and smarter with your time. Are you there but not effectively achieving or accomplishing anything? Even harder to do when your burnt out, but I know at least for me there were always ways to do so had I just focused a bit more or just did it slightly differently and still get the same results. Delegate authority but you can never delegate responsibility if in charge of others. Get them involved and make them care about the results. You will still need to do the necessary supervision just not as much work and you'll actually get more done.

[4vCoupe]

I work 55-65 hrs a week also, been doing that for years. On the rare occasions that I only work 8hrs I feel like I’m taking half the day off.

I do have a ton of vacation days so I will just schedule a three day weekend if I’m feeling burnt out.


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[logo]

In the early years of residency we’d work 80-100hrs some weeks. Some continue to work crazy hours through all of residency entirely and into staff physician life (though, more in the 60-80hr range). I could never go back to that, (most docs are in the 45-60 range), but the docs who do a lot of hours are ones that would give up nearly anything for their job. I think it’s the only way - you have to live and breathe your job to be able to pull those hours consistently and stay sane.

[-dustin]

growing up, all i knew was a 60+ hour work week. single parent household, my mom worked 65 - 70hrs per week. i'm 38 and i still will not complain if i have to work 60hrs, even though 20+hrs week could be in an open garage without A/C, which really sucks when ambient air temp is 95+ with 60% humidity.

[Chewbacca]

Op, The issue isn’t always the time, it’s when you use the time. Your shift is a classic killer. Proven to cause health issues and even death sooner. Humans are not designed to work overnight. Hence, graveyard shift.

4am - 4pm is doable. Ask any entrepreneur. I’ve done it many years.

The shift you have is wartime labor camp hours. Get paid right, then gtfo and be indispensable elsewhere.

[donas]

I understand your plight as I'm married to a (now retired) workaholic, but have never allowed myself to go down that road. I too am now retired from a job I loved (most of the time), but never had an issue leaving it behind at the end of my assigned shift. I always maintained the mentality that I get paid to do a job and to do it at a designated time; I gave max. effort during that time and had no issues parting ways and picking it up the next day. I did my job well and was the leader of many great men and women, but knew that no matter how well I performed nor how much I was liked or admired by my peers, my replacement was nothing but a phone call away....this is true no matter what one's job is or how important one believes they are. Taking that into consideration, my mental health and quality of life remained great.

Your health (mental & physical) should always be your priority (in my opinion). There are millions of jobs out there, but only one opportunity to live a healthy and happy life.

I have no doubt many on TRF will disagree with me, but what's important is I made it through a rewarding career and retired healthy and happy with no regrets. If nothing else, my attitude provided great amusement for me and my peers as it was well known by those above me and often ruffled feathers to no avail.

[dddrees]

Originally Posted by donas

I understand your plight as I'm married to a (now retired) workaholic, but have never allowed myself to go down that road. I too am now retired from a job I loved (most of the time), but never had an issue leaving it behind at the end of my assigned shift. I always maintained the mentality that I get paid to do a job and to do it at a designated time; I gave max. effort during that time and had no issues parting ways and picking it up the next day. I did my job well and was the leader of many great men and women, but knew that no matter how well I performed nor how much I was liked or admired by my peers, my replacement was nothing but a phone call away....this is true no matter what one's job is or how important one believes they are. Taking that into consideration, my mental health and quality of life remained great.

Your health (mental & physical) should always be your priority (in my opinion). There are millions of jobs out there, but only one opportunity to live a healthy and happy life.

I have no doubt many on TRF will disagree with me, but what's important is I made it through a rewarding career and retired healthy and happy with no regrets. If nothing else, my attitude provided great amusement for me and my peers as it was well known by those above me and often ruffled feathers to no avail.

Well said.

Often it is what you do and how you do it that matters most. Not how long your at it.

[Chester01]

Ill leave you with my favorite quote from Marcus Aurelius

"All of us are creatures of a day; the rememberer and the remembered alike. All is ephemeral—both memory and the object of memory. The time is at hand when you will have forgotten everything; and the time is at hand when all will have forgotten you. Always reflect that soon you will be no one, and nowhere"

You decide where you time is best spent. I spent much time working with the dying, none of them ever wished they had spent more time working at the end. It seems to be its our family and loved ones that provide us with the most meaning. There is this "man up culture" with work and it becomes a badge of honor to work 80+ hours a week. For what? Think long and hard about who really benefits from that-in the end more will be taken from you then they give you. The folks who enjoy the 80+ hours, i wonder what they are avoiding in their lives and I have serious concerns for their cardiovascular health.

[pickettt]

I’ve done the same, even 70 hour weeks. However, it was all in the building of my business. I cannot say I would work that hard to build someone else’s business.

[77T]

What work is this? Your profile says President of a Computer Outlet.

The way you describe it, I sense a Sisyphusian futility. If true then this may be the time to change paths.

Good luck in making a change in something that will yield more satisfaction.


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[dddrees]

As someone who served in the military and retired after 20 years I feel sorry for those who only spend so much time and all they can think about is the money. Money although important and a necessary reality was never as important to me as the sense of accomplishment and professional relationships I was extremely fortunate to be a part of.

[interestedwatcher]

It happens, the people above working 60 + hours a week and not complaining, are likely fulfilled by that work - you obviously aren't.

[AzPaul]

When you leave this job (and you obviously will) just make sure you have the next one all lined up and ready to go. Being so fed up that you quit only feels liberating for a very short time.

[Chewbacca]

Originally Posted by AzPaul

When you leave this job (and you obviously will) just make sure you have the next one all lined up and ready to go. Being so fed up that you quit only feels liberating for a very short time.

This advice.

Never make an important decision on emotional whims.

[Polarexplorerii]

Originally Posted by interestedwatcher

It happens, the people above working 60 + hours a week and not complaining, are likely fulfilled by that work - you obviously aren't.

i work a lot and i am not fulfilled by my job but hey, I have bills to pay and watches to buy lol

[Ny325]

Yes, it’s true that your luck to have a job. Considering the high unemployment numbers. However, your mental health is more important.

Work to live, not live to work.