Are you secretly working too hard?

Being a workaholic —always pushing yourself to keep working just a little longer. It can easily creep up on you before you realize you’re working just a little too hard. There are several reasons why you might think working through it is a good idea, when you actually need to slow down a bit. To figure out when you’re working too hard and what beliefs are causing this, I’ll discuss the effects of working long hours in this blog post.

Australian research on people aged 40 and older shows a possible explanation for why women in the Netherlands often work part-time. This is because if you work more than 25 hours a week, your cognitive ability, your ability to think, deteriorates. Up to 25 hours of work per week, working is actually good for your thinking ability.

So actually, those Dutch ladies are very smart! This also goes to show why many companies are experimenting with 5- or 6-hour workdays because it is good for thinking skills. The theory then is that this makes no difference to the productivity of an 8-hour workday.

So making a 40-hour work week is more than enough for most people. Especially if you work more than 50 hours a week, the extra hours over 50 are completely useless in terms of productivity.

Do you still prefer to work even longer hours? Then there might be something going on. For example, if you need money, it can make perfect sense to work more hours.

Has working long hours become more of a compulsion? If so, be careful—you might be developing a work addiction or heading toward burnout. Working too much is linked to an imbalance between work and personal life, stress, and poorer health—both mental and physical.

People who are more burdened or tend to overwork are often perfectionists and often have the following personality traits:

• Extravert
• Ambitious
• Aware of Status
• Impatient
• Proactive
• Organized

The statistics and features are clear, but what beliefs are actually causing you to suddenly work too much?

Belief 1: At a quieter time, you do slow down.

You feel like the busyness you have at work right now is temporary. The strange thing is that success often makes for more success, so you really don't always get calmer.

Every time you think you can slow down, yet another new project or opportunity comes along that you just have to grab.

Ultimately, it's important to prioritize. Especially if you are afraid of missing opportunities, it is important to examine those fears.

A hypnotherapist can help you with that. Many people fear missing out on opportunities. This can manifest, for example, in people who enjoy going out, but also in people who work a lot.

On the contrary, if you spend all day solving problems, consider for yourself what might happen if you don't solve the problem immediately, but put it off for a week.

A hypnotherapist can help you figure out why you’re always in a rush to solve problems. This can be done, for example, through regression. During regression, you go back to an event in your life that led to the belief that you’re always in a hurry and that problems must be solved immediately.

Most beliefs are formed in childhood, so you may be in for some surprising results.

Belief #2: Actually, I'm a fraud, if I stop working I'm bound to fall through.

Many people feel that they don’t really deserve the position they hold at work. If so, you may be suffering from imposter syndrome.

A hypnotist can help you suffer less from these symptoms. It also helps you keep track of the thoughts you have and recognize when this syndrome is rearing its head.

In the process, people can also see a lot of overwork as a sign that you are a bad planner. So who's fooling who now?

So you're definitely not a fraud, but why you might think that is something a hypnotist can help you with. Through a Socratic Conversation, in which the why question is repeated several times, you get to the core of your belief and then you can work with the hypnotist to figure out why that belief is actually wrong.

A good way to suffer less from feeling like a fraud is to make a list of all the talents and skills you have. In addition, you can also make a list of things you have accomplished in your career.

Belief 3: I can work through things better than other people

Did you know that most drivers think they drive better than the average car driver? This is because, as humans, we like to think that when dangerous or risky behavior occurs, we are the (positive) exception to the rule.

You've just read that working more than 50 hours a week won't improve your productivity. If you then thought to yourself that that is really not true for you and that you are productive for as many as 60 hours a week, including those last 10 hours, you also think you are the exception to the rule.

To keep it safe, it's best to assume you're just like the average person. Surely those really work best between 25 and 50 hours a week.

In doing so, you really don't have to do it to impress your manager. Research shows that managers cannot tell the difference between people who really work 80 hours a week and those who pretend to work 80 hours a week. If you do work overtime, do it for yourself not for the promotion.

If you are indeed working overtime to solve a problem, you can work 60 hours for 2 weeks. After that, it really stops and it's time for rest and sleep.

Hypnosis can also help make this belief a little more realistic. In particular, you can repeat the benefits of not working overtime during self-hypnosis to put the importance of rest above the importance of working overtime. For example, with the following suggestions.

"When I don't work overtime I have more time to sleep which is better for my thinking."

"If I don't work overtime I can relax earlier which reduces my stress hormones."

"If I don't work overtime I can focus better the next day."

Belief 4: You can always go the extra mile

Do you often have the thought towards the end of the work day that you are doing 1 more thing....and then suddenly you are 2 hours away again? Especially if you already work close to 40-50 hours a week, it is important to find out why you have this belief when you already work more than a full work week.

A hypnotherapist can help you figure out why this little voice is raising its head, and he or she can then help you change your beliefs so that the little voice is quiet, especially if you already work more than 40 hours a week.

This can be done, for example, by repeating other beliefs during self-hypnosis, such as:

"I don't need to push myself when I already work enough hours."

"I get to quit earlier than when I'm overtired."

"I can work better when I take my rest."

Belief 5: I have all the time

You only live once and you can only spend your time once. Therefore, time is the most important thing you have and many people think it is important to have a high hourly wage or to work only part-time.

Just think, will you have enough time later to play with your kids or have some fun with your partner? Think again. On the contrary, most parents feel that time goes very fast because their children grow so incredibly fast. Before you know it, you have a rebellious adolescent who thinks you are unimportant because you are mostly at work.

Therefore, always determine which option you actually let go when you work an extra hour.

If you are faced with the choice to overwork ask yourself what choice you are really facing.

Such as:

• I can work an extra hour now, or I can assemble Lego with my child.
• I can work an extra hour now, or I can cook with my partner (little wine thrown in, who knows what happens 😉 ).
• I can work an extra hour now, or I can spend some time at home reading that book.
• I can work an extra hour right now, or I can go out for a workout.
• I can work an extra hour now, or go see my friend(s) again.

So there are all kinds of pitfalls in beliefs that can cause you to work too hard; fortunately, there's also a lot you can do to straighten out your work-life balance.

Would you like to learn more about hypnosis and other mental techniques? Then check out the courses and the calendar of events at the Hypnosis Institute of the Netherlands and sign up.

Sources:

https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2737742

http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0149206314522301

https://hbr.org/2015/08/the-research-is-clear-long-hours-backfire-for-people-and-for-companies