With job security at the lowest level it’s been for 20 years and fear of redundancy omnipresent in so many of our minds, it’s no wonder that so many of us are cramming extra work into our weekends to appear on top of our workload and extra dedicated. But working in our free time after doing a five day week, when we should be socialising, resting and relaxing, can have a detrimental affect on both our mental and physical health. Here’s Pride’s guide to saying no to weekend working, getting our Saturdays and Sundays back.
DON’T REPLY!
Thanks to the lowly old e-mail we are constantly ‘on’ meaning that we are always in touch with the office no matter where we are or what we’re doing. If you find yourself reaching for your smartphone on a Saturday morning when you should be having a lie-in just to check if there’s anything ‘going on’ stop yourself. Evaluate how important it really is and if you absolutely have to reply. All those little e-mails you fire off can add up to hours and hours – in fact 5.3 million working Britons surveyed put in 7.2 hours of unpaid overtime a week.
TRY TO FIND A BALANCE
Okay, so we live in a time when the work life balance is different from years ago thanks to modern technology and home-working but it’s still so important to find the right work life blend. If you really feel you have to work on the weekend then try not to ‘pop into the office’ which can turn in to two or three hours of writing reports. If you have to work at home, don’t do it in your bedroom or other areas where you relax – try and keep it to a working desk or home office. Also don’t graze work all weekend – that is constantly checking e-mails and doing little bits here and there. Set aside an hour and get it over and done with. Then get out of your working mode and enjoy some time with family and friends!
DON’T BE A MARTYR!
I’m sure we’ve all said at one point in our working lives that we are doing the job of ten people and there aren’t enough hours in the day to do it – nevermind getting paid enough to do it. But do we really need to work at home or perhaps just plan our day a bit better? Instead of using the weekend as a buffer to get things done so you can relax a bit at work, really utilise your time in the office in the best way possible to complete your tasks. If you’re using every hour of your working day, getting in early and leaving late and you still can’t get your work done then talk to your boss about it. You should never be in a position at work when you feel like you physically can’t manage your workload.
