14 DAY TRIAL // Productiveness at work is probably still a high objective for most people, although in recent years this has been affected by what I can call in a very funny way "snoozing at work practice makes perfect". Leaving aside the more severe forms of tiredness, called chronic fatigue cases, we have two major categories of people that define two extremes: those who are tired because of always feeling they have something to do (and some probably do) and those who are tired because they have absolutely nothing to do at work (and don't).
People in the first category are also of two subtypes: first, those whose ideology is that they should provide an enormous quantity of activity results at an exaggerated pace, without taking into consideration the fact that doing something has a value of its own , irrespective of what they are doing. They are concerned with quantity and quality, but the fact is that no one can do that for a long period of time, they will burn out and fail to provide both, or they will socially isolate themselves to the point of alienation. According to Karin Widerberg, Professor of Sociology at the University of Oslo and co-author of a project called "The Sociality of Tiredness- culture, tradition and change; challenges on the threshold of the next millennium-a sociological research project with implications for health policy", the "workaholic" phenomenon is a typical 20th century feature, coming as a somewhat natural result of the development of technology and communication. The so called liberal professions, lawyers and doctors, were the one who changed dramatically from one century to another: "At the beginning of the 20th century, people working in liberal professions, such as lawyers and doctors, were supposed to work a little but otherwise had free time to visit the salons and participate in public life. Today it is precisely these occupational groups who are most busy. There has been a fundamental change in society that we can't fully comprehend, and it has taken place very rapidly. Another striking feature is that there aren't any groups who are critical of this development. Today it seems as if a high pace is a social law, but in other ages human beings had other conceptions of time and a different attitude to the body".
The second subtype is the one plagued by the so called "Hurry up and get finished" syndrome, which is also a source of tiredness. This is the type of psychological nervousness which favors quantity over quality and is also never ending basically, since one is always in the situation of having to hurry up and get finished with something. Apparently, women are most inclined to suffer from such a syndrome, because they always feel the need to "finish something", which can be easily combined with the "good girl" syndrome: "One never gets finished. One must teach oneself to let the washing-up stay in the sink and have a rest instead. The washing-up is not going to run away. Here men seem to be better than women, in that they more often allow themselves time to relax. Women ought to learn from men. And children ought to learn to watch out, for example when they come home from school," says Professor Widerberg. I have a comment to add here: if most women have the permanent urge to finish something in matters that relate to the house or job, then most men DO have their own tendency of finishing quickly, especially if we're talking about relationship matters.(but hey this is not related to work so it cannot be taken into consideration)
And now, the ones who snooze at work because they have nothing to do and they themselves do not create anything for themselves to do. Of course, having nothing (challenging) to do at work and snoozing is pretty tempting, although this might prove to be psychologically frustrating on the long run since it may trigger feelings of unworthiness (for those who care enough about their work) and boredom. On the other hand, if people snooze at work with their boss's permission, then they are among the lucky growing number of employees whose companies are allowing or encouraging what I called "sleeping in an organized environment", which is an increasing phenomenon in today's societies. More and more companies abroad are becoming increasingly aware of the fact that a midday nap of let's say 30 minutes a day, instead of preventing sleep with nicotine or coffee, might do wonders in matters of a worker's mood, alertness and performance, which might last for up to 10 hours. Here's what fellow American workers are advised to do when napping at work (this makes me laugh when thinking about what we Romanians have to go through if we do any of these things at work; yet, who knows, maybe we'll live the day when we ourselves will be able to do that in an "organized environment"). These pieces of advice, otherwise very funny although presented in a serious context, are taken from a book called "The Art of Napping at Work": - Announce your nap to yourself and to your colleagues if possible. - Collect "equipment" that will make your nap pleasurable, such as a favorite pillow or blanket. - Use an alarm clock or have someone check on you to ensure you wake up on time. - Develop a strategy or find a secret napping spot so you will not be awakened prematurely. - Combat sleep inertia by taking naps of 20 to 30 minutes, and find ways to shake off your grogginess (if you have any) before returning to work. - Plan your napping routine. This reinforces the importance of scheduling time for napping and gives you the opportunity to add new features and make changes in your routine. On the other hand, for those who still fear boss will catch them doing nothing at work, or worse, sleeping, here are a few tips that will get them out of trouble, according to "The Art of Napping at Work" again: - "They told me at the blood bank this might happen." - "This is just a 15-minute power-nap like they raved about in the management courses I'm taking at night and on weekends." - "I wasn't sleeping; I was trying to pick up my contact lens without using my germ-laden hands." - "Boy, that cold medicine I took last night just won't wear off." - "Darn! Why did you interrupt me? I had almost figured out a solution to our biggest problem." In conclusion, "Sleep well"...I mean "Get to work!"...I mean "Work work work! What are you waiting for?"
