Overwork: 5 Consequences

Overwork has become the trademark of many people. Working is assumed to be laudable, which is true, but not when the workplace is allowed to invade your entire life. If this happens, existence is gradually impoverished.

People become overworked for different reasons. Perhaps the income from a single job may not be enough and you need to get more jobs. Other times what there is is an excessive passion for the work, or the success that it can lavish.

There are also cases in which overwork becomes a mechanism to flee from other aspects of life, when they are problematic. Whatever the case, it only indicates that there are problems and that these must be resolved before it is too late. The consequences can be very serious. These are five of them.

1. Deterioration of affective and social relationships

The first consequence of overwork is a progressive deterioration of other areas of life. In the first place, because so many hours are dedicated to work, that there is little emotional energy available for other aspects. In fact, it is usual that working excessively is a way of avoiding difficulties in other spheres.

Overwork is often perceived by the couple as abandonment or even rejection. The ghost of absence appears. The other feels in second place. The same happens with family or friends, who clearly perceive the lack of availability.

In the same way, when a person has few affective relationships, overworking does not help to solve the problem. What it does is cover it up and, many times, increase it. Therefore, in all cases relationships with others fade under these circumstances.

2. Fatigue and listlessness, a frequent effect of overwork

When there is overwork there is also fatigue. This is initially expressed as physical and mental fatigue. Tiredness soon becomes exhaustion, but at the same time the person often feels that he cannot or should not stop.

Exhaustion has direct effects on mood. Many times it gives rise to a strong apathy towards everything and a feeling of constant reluctance. Enthusiasm is fading. Interest in almost everything is lost. Sadness is experienced From there to depression there is only one step. There is also anxiety and sometimes anguish, in different intensities.

3. Increasing unproductiveness

The most paradoxical thing is that overwork also leads to unproductivity. Tiredness, apathy and unstable mood affect the ability to perform tasks with excellence. Rather, it ends up fulfilling by fulfilling.

Some people with obsessive traits insist on doing everything in the best way. Still, work overload limits your creative abilities. It becomes more difficult to innovate and gain greater efficiency. This is only possible when you have a fresh mind and tempered emotions.

4. Health problems

There are many physical illnesses that occur when there is excess work. Generally it all starts with gastrointestinal upset. Poor digestion, gastritis, constipation, and such difficulties. Skin problems, sudden allergies, or regular colds are also common.

Over time, health problems become more complex. It is not uncommon for those who work excessively to begin to have difficulty sleeping, which sometimes transforms into chronic insomnia. Neither are cases in which hypertension or circulatory problems begin to appear.

At this point it is important to note that death from overwork is no myth. It is known that when this circumstance persists for a long time, it can lead to heart attacks or strokes. The consequences of working too hard are unpredictable.

5. Automatism and loss of meaning

When you work excessively, life gradually loses its sense of novelty. As much as the work requires ingenuity and creativity, there is a point where it becomes a great routine. To tolerate the workload, without realizing it, the person develops different automatisms. They are stereotypical ways of acting, which avoid taking time to think.

This in turn is generating a sense of meaninglessness in front of everything. From time to time, thoughts and questions about the true meaning of life begin to appear. If there are also depressive features, the consequences can be very serious.

Overwork, like any excess, should be avoided at all costs. Finally it does not bring more than problems of all kinds. Life is one and includes many dimensions. Reducing it to just one has serious effects on our physical and mental health. It is better to rethink, rebuild and open up to more fulfilling ways of living.