Hello everyone.

19 Comments

1. AnonymousDecember 3,2025 at 3:21AM UTC

   I am in recovery (insert sarcastic undertones) for this limit pushing behavior. It has not gotten me anywhere but stressed and overwhelmed. I would say you have a healthy outlook, as they say, the majority of us are not saving lives, we are saving Excel spreadsheets. Go in, do a great job, go home.

2. AnonymousDecember 3,2025 at 3:22AM UTC

   I think as you mature and understand or ĺearn the art of balance, you succeed in so many areas of your life. You are rewarded with health, mental clarity., a sense of peace and stronger relationships with others as well as yourself. I find my work is vastly improved with balance and I feel a true sense of fulfillment.

3. AnonymousDecember 3,2025 at 4:37AM UTC

   Some management in high tech feels that being hired as an Engineer (and getting the associated higher salary) comes with the implied responsibility of extra hours / effort. I have been in groups where you would be on the next RIF if you did not put in those long hours.

4. AnonymousDecember 3,2025 at 1:34PM UTC

   If you don't feel you should be criticized for taking care of yourself first, maybe also not criticize others for their work habits.

   I mean, I get it...it would be lovely to go to work 8, take a leisurely one-hour lunch, pack up and head out at 5...but it's not realistic. In an age where it seems the job market sucks, it's a 'dog eat dog' world. If you do enough to get by and everyone is running circles around you...well, that does not bode well for you.

   I work in global organization and find that work cultures vary tremendously by country. And I see the frustrating when one goes from one country to another for assignments but they know they need to adopt to the work culture of the country they're in. I'm not sure what it is that you do for work, but if your work environment is at a different pace than you'd like you might want to consider looking elsewhere if it's causing you frustration. Unfortunately for me, I have picked up the habits of those around me but also realize that if I don't put in the time, this is not the place for me.

   Side note: I totally understand the frustration around others coming in to work sick. No one wants your germs, keep them home. But then, this is likely chalked up to company policy. If people have the capability to and are encouraged to work from home when ill, then please do so and do you part to prevent the next pandemic from happening. The advent of open floor plans in the office should really include policies regarding illness and staying home when you're sick (and for goodness sake - wash your hands people!).

5. AnonymousDecember 11,2025 at 2:16PM UTC

   I especially agree with your take on sick leave. The US is the only advanced economy that does not mandate paid sick leave at the federal level. I am a huge advocate for paid sick leave for all, and I see the lack of this as the primary issue.

6. AnonymousDecember 3,2025 at 2:22PM UTC

   Unfortunately the habits displayed by your coworkers are what many employers hope for in their employees. The "that's not my job" and "I put in my 8 hours, I can't stay and do that" employees are being phased out of many companies.

   My son-in-law is one of those who refuses to go "above and beyond" and routinely has the "that's not my job so I'm not doing it" attitude; he has had 11 jobs over the last 14 years for that reason. He either gets terminated or he receives poor reviews with a minimum, if any, raise, so he gets mad and quits.

   I also have a friend with the same attitude and she is constantly finding herself unemployed and has great difficulty finding new positions when all of her former employers, when contacted, say they would not rehire her. Most recently she was unemployed for 2 years. She is a single mother who can't afford to be out of work, yet she constantly finds herself in that position and wonders why.

   Employers want employees who are dedicated and loyal. I do agree that employer requests need to be within reason, and there do need to be "boundaries", however complete refusal every time does not bode well for people.

7. AnonymousDecember 3,2025 at 5:49PM UTC

   The work behavior of others does not reflect yours. It's important to know these things about yourself. Know that occasional leaning in outside of the normal business hours is okay. Know that this environment is not for you. If you want to rise, you have to run, if you don't want to run, but saunter, you will not go far. Decide what you want, where you want to go and if you are okay just working for the paycheck and not moving up. However, you can work your a$$ off and never go anywhere as well. I highly suggest you get out of corporate and go look at state jobs. They tend to be more supportive of an 8-5 day with lots of time off. I am in that now, have worked the rat race, corporate 365 days a year and made tons of money. Everything is a trade off.

8. AnonymousDecember 6,2025 at 2:47AM UTC

   I am the original poster, thanks for your responses. I do want to work hard for my employer, but my mental health is more important. I am also not focusing on moving higher up right now. Thanks for your thoughts it cleared up somethings. I now understand this kind of thing happens every where which Is kind of ridiculous. I think that a hard worker and working to exhaustion are two different things. I also think coming to work sick is the stupidest thing a person can do. It hurts you and other people. If you can't stand stay home period.

9. Neon PhotonsDecember 10,2025 at 4:22AM UTC

   I agree. I also see coming to work sick as making oneself a hazard since they risk infecting their coworkers (and in turn bring germs home to whoever they may live with). I don't think coming to work sick is "going the extra mile,"because I've also noticed people who work sick often just show up for the pay and don't care about spreading germs. Plus, they end up being less productive, making more work for others.

10. AnonymousDecember 6,2025 at 4:43PM UTC

    If that is your work style so be it, but it will not grow your career. If you are okay with that then okay. Balance seems to be your thing and your personal life seems to be of more personal importance to you. Perhaps you are not career driven and just think of work as a means to make money. If that is the case perhaps finding an employer where you can fade into the woodwork and be just that would be better for you if the pressures and judgement of not doing more than the baseline is getting to you mentally in your current place of work. Not everyone wants to push and clearly you don't so remove yourself from a workplace that expects more than you have in you to destress from that situation.

11. AnonymousDecember 7,2025 at 2:16PM UTC

    It's great if you can make it work. In an ideal world, we would only work paid hours. For some jobs, that's more feasible than others. If you teach high school English and have 180 essays to grade, which you are required to do within 48 hours of receiving them, but you lost your planning period because another teacher was absent and you had to cover for them, then you received an email that all teachers have to do additional online training due tomorrow, it is not humanly possible to only work paid hours and still meet the basic job requirements. I applaud you for taking sick days, especially if you have something contagious. People don't take them if they are worried about losing money and/or it's more trouble to miss work than to just show up (teaching can definitely be like that.)

12. AnonymousDecember 7,2025 at 6:43PM UTC

    Maybe you need to find a co culture that matches better to your work style, they're out there!

13. AnonymousDecember 8,2025 at 3:55AM UTC

    There are times you don't see everything. I know all bosses are not the same but I have one of the best boss/managers in any business.

    I have my standard PTO and I do use that. However counting the time I am using at Christmas for 2 weeks off, I will be out for the year. If something happened tomorrow and i went to her, I assure you she would pay me my salary and I could either not be at work or work from home if needed. On the flip side of that, she knows if she needs me, anytime she needs me, I am there. Another supervisor calls out on a Saturday and they need someone to cover, I am there. It is end of month and we have to get 4 trucks of material out of the warehouse, I will stay till the last truck is gone. It is give and take.

    Every company needs those who come in, do their job and leave as you indicated. I just don't think you should expect the same treatment as those who are willing to go the extra mile and stay late/come in early, on days off/etc. It isn't that they are treating you different, they just go to the ones they know will be there when they need them.

    We have 70% of our employees who are the "I'm here for the check" and that is ok. They just can't be expected to get anything come review time other than "meets expectations".

    You can't ride two horses with one butt.

14. AnonymousDecember 11,2025 at 2:05PM UTC

    While I agree with most of this, the point/fact is that in most companies, you are not rewarded or treated better for being the one to go above and beyond. I have in every single job I've ever had, and it has never gotten me anything but more work for the same pay and title. It's a fine line, because I take pride in my work and I work hard, but I also value work-life balance equally to that. I have received "Exceeds expectations/Outstanding" on all but one evaluation in my entire life. What did it get me within those companies? Nothing. Every time I've moved up in my career, it has been when I've gotten a new job at a different company. Again, it may not be your experience, but this is the reality of our time for most people.

    A company's failure to properly staff and compensate is not mine or any employee's responsibility. I personally have absorbed so much work in my current position and have not been rewarded for it - instead, team leadership has exploited my reliability, hence why I am already on my way out to a better job. No one has to (or can) meet every expectation, and while we owe people decency and mutual respect, we do not owe the world our exhaustion. Especially if it is not valued the way that it should be.

15. AnonymousDecember 12,2025 at 12:55AM UTC

    I definitely realize that I work for one of the few bosses that treats me as she does. I try and emulate her when dealing with my team.

    When she first promoted me, she had zero idea what I had the potential of doing. We had one level of management between us. He enjoyed taking credit for everything I did. When I say I did his job, I literally did his job. I had all sorts of bias against my current boss based on him. She was a hard-ssa. She counted every minute you worked, yadda yadda yadda. It didn't take me but around one week to realize she did that to him because he didn't even pull a full 10 hours a week. Most companies hire managers and not leaders.

16. AnonymousDecember 14,2025 at 9:32PM UTC

    I am lucky enough to have such an employer too. They’ve shown repeatedly how appreciative they are of those who have shown dedication.

17. AnonymousDecember 8,2025 at 4:13PM UTC

    No it's not just you. There is a young lady on YouTube, and she does short TikTok videos on this all the time. Her whole channel is dedicated to silly corporate nonsense. Check this out regarding sending emails at 3:30 on a Friday afternoon requesting a meeting - she wants to know what is wrong with people.

    https://youtube.com/shorts/Bj-GPiT4o-0?si=XzhtYhE1IP6W2WLM

18. Celena BartonDecember 9,2025 at 1:38PM UTC

    Think of it this way: why give your all to a company that would get rid of you in a heartbeat? If you’re getting your work done on time and feel like you have good work-life balance, that’s all that matters.

19. AnonymousDecember 14,2025 at 9:30PM UTC

    I would stay at home if sick, but I genuinely like what I do, am salaried, and work voluntarily 10 hour days, some on weekends. My extra hours are appreciated and not expected.