Desk jobs and long hours?

B

Bunbun

Cathlete
I've been wondering about this for a while now: If you have a desk job, especially a job that's really busy, how do you cope with having to sit all day? I usually get up from my desk, stretch, walk instead of emailing co-workers or calling them, stand when I'm on phone calls...all that sort of stuff. But my job has been insanely busy since January, with insane deadlines, and the only way I can get my work done on time is to sit for hours on end. Things are so busy at my company (great for business!), and I don't see that it will get slower for a long time--possibly not until next year, if that. It drives me nuts--I hate just sitting and sitting. Most of the people in my department are overweight, too, and it's terrifying me that I heading that way now because of my workload. And also the expectation that people will work all hours of the night, having no personal life (and no time to workout!). Wanting to go home and have a life and workout is not considered a valid excuse for leaving at a reasonable hour, either.

Has anyone else had to deal with this type of situation? Were you able to keep your job or did you have to leave? Anyone have any ideas? I have made it pretty clear to my boss in the recent past that my personal life is important to me, but the workload just keeps piling up.

TIA!
Bunbun
 
Sounds like your boss needs to hire some more people!

Fortunately, I work part time from home but I have to sit behind the computer when I work. Right now I'm supposed to be writing a program but it is incredibly boring to me so I keep getting up and heading to the refridgerator! Not to mention looking at other stuff on the internet.

My DH recently started working on a project that has a hard deadline and much work to accomplish. The federally mandated rules where he works specify that he has to have overtime pre-approved. When his boss told him it had been approved for him to work overtime he replied with "Oh, so my wife says it's OK?" He's sort of in the same boat you are and is stressed out with it all and only able to get any type of execise like twice a week!!!

Makes me appreciate my situation all the more.....
 
Thanks, yes, they did hire some temp people, but it's difficult for someone to come into the middle of this type of work and be able to pick up on it the way that we need them to. I guess it makes me angry that on one hand there's all this push by health authorities and the government to exercise and eat right, etc...yet on the other hand, the work ethic in many companies is that you're expected to sacrifice your home life to get work done.
 
Hi Bunbun,

I was in your same situation for 11 years. It was such a horrible feeling!!

When I first started working for the company, I was 23 years old. Like you, I would get up, walk around and talk to someone. Or go outside and walk around the block. SOMETHING just to get me away from that dog gone desk!!

I started to eat more and and more from stress!! When I started working at my company I was 140lbs. By the time I quit (just this past June), I was almost 200lbs!!!x( I hated my job, I was always busy and stressed, and then because I had gained so much weight I wasn't happy with my appearance either.

As I mentioned, I quite my job in June 2005 went to Africa a week later on a two week safari, and I haven't looked back!!

This is the first time in 11 years that I feel wonderful. ( I didn't mention above, but my dad died 2 days before I started my job back in 94 which added to the stress). I'm doing real estate now. Though it more challenging because I don't have a paycheck/set amount coming to me every two weeks, it is definitely worth the struggle.
I have joined a gym, and I actually work out at least 5 days a week for about two hours a day. And I get to spend more time with my friends and family.And the best part, is that I'm no longer crabby all of the time!!:p

All that to say, I'm not telling anyone to quite their job(lol), but life is too short. And if you can afford to make some changes in your life that make you a happier person, than go for it.

Sorry for my long post!

Jocelyn
 
I have a most-of-the-time-sit-down-job as well. I recently changed companies to give me more time in my life. I cut over an hour off my commute time. I still get up at 5:30am and workout every morning. My morning workout is weights and aerobics. ~60 minutes. Then during the day I walk around as much as feasibly possible. When the weather warms I am going to take a longer lunch and go for a walk (I'll eat on my breaks - nutritious snacks).

In the evening I workout again ~30-45 min. Glide, walk, pilates, yoga, bounce, dance....anything that gets me moving, but NO WEIGHTS...My evening workout is just to get my blood flowing from sitting most of the day.

Desk jobs are not friendly to adequate activity. SO...make any adjustment you can. At home I sit on a balance ball and bounce away while I check emails/forums/etc...it's better than sitting still. Just watch you don't roll away.........;-)

Terri
 
I'm thinking I may have to change jobs, too. It's hard, though because most of the jobs in my industry are like this. So it would mean changing careers, and I'm pushing 50--that makes it harder. I do get out for at least 15 minutes at lunch no matter how busy things are at work. That helps some.
 
Well, I can tell you that the grass isn't always greener. I quit my full time job to go to nursing school and I now work in a busy ER. My job is now, quite literally, the totally opposite of what I had before. Now I run like a crazy person at work and it is super stressful. Actually, everyday feels like a relay race from start to finish. It is no fun really. That is in addition to school right now.

Moral of the story? If you do make changes, be sure not to go so far to the other side that you end up hating that too. LOL. Now I would like a job with a bit less immediate, heart pounding, relentless STRESS. :) I'd love to go back to a few days per week of my 'lazy' job....:eek:

I feel for you. Bottom line is you will never be more important to them than the work. It is up to you to put yourself first. So........change jobs if need be. What else would you like to do with your life? There is another thread going on this one you know......}(
 
Hi, Bunbun. For some reason I didn't see your post until just now.

You know, it never ceases to amaze me that my secretary is always finding new ways to NOT get out of her chair, like calling me on the phone instead of walking a few yards. I'm exactly the opposite, always bolting out of my chair at the slightest excuse. My firm is on two floors, and I run up and down the stairs all day long. In the end, though, it's obvious that I don't get nearly enough exercise and my work drains my energy so I don't even feel like exercising when I get home.

When I used to work in Union Square, I would put on my sneakers after work and race walk to the Brooklyn Bridge every day, then get on the subway to go the rest of the way home. That little walk made a huge difference in my overall fitness, and kept me slim. I'm not sure why I don't do it anymore, probably because I got tired of lugging my sneakers back and forth, and wearing them these days just looks silly. That's my only excuse. I really should go back to it, as it made a bigger difference than you might think. You don't have to walk the whole way home, just choose some portion of your commute to walk, and take PT for the rest. Like now, I could walk 20 blocks down to Union Square, then get on the train, or something like that.

Maybe I should start walking again soon.....


-Nancy
 
Bunbun,

I have the same experience as yours. I do not like leaving my desk, or to stop in the middle of something to get up because I lose my train of thought. As I work with numbers all day, my job requires a lot of focus. I get up and walk a bit after lunch and if the situation permits, I'll walk to someone's desk to give or get information. I get up at 5:00 and am exercising at 5:30 for an hour.

I know this may be unreasonable for you but a few years ago I put a halt to working overtime. The people I work for didn't like it at first but it's now accepted and my ratings have not suffered. I use my health as an excuse. Where I work, I have seen the ambulance pulling up too many times carrying heart attack victims to the hospital. For me, it was about setting boundaries. I thought about it and I decided I didn't want the saying on my tombstone to reflect what a good worker I was. Now I leave when my 9 hours are up and spend quality time with my husband and my dogs. I also bask in a hot bath and read every evening. For me, it's all about having balance in my life.
 
Oh, goodness, yes. I sit and stare at a computer all day long. I get so fidgety and bug-eyed by the end of the day, I'm just about nuts. I make sure I take a lunch break and usually go outside to walk. I can also walk inside - I work at a hospital with lots of long hallways and stairwells.

I most definitely avoid overtime whenever possible, and I don't make any bones about it. I recently had two really tough assignments that required OT - the first one just about put me over the edge.

What saves me is that at the end of the day, I come home and work out. I have it to look forward to, and it shakes out all the kinks and tight muscles. Also, I REFUSE to get on the computer during the weekend. I miss the forum, but oh well! I stay active, take the dog for several walks, whatever it takes to keep moving.

But one thing here - we're required to track our "billable" hours and are supposed to average 6.5 a day. So, what with paperwork, phone calls, and other non-billable stuff, you really have to keep your nose to the grindstone in order to mee the quota.
 
Hi all! Sorry for the delay in answering--I can't get onto the forum at work. (And now I'm finally home and sitting on my butt in front of the comp!) I'll try to answer everyone in one post--hope I can remember everything. There's some really good ideas here.

Janice: I agree with you--don't want to go from the frying pan into the fire! Being exhausted physically or mentally or both from a job just rots! There are days when things are so busy at work that I know my blood pressure (which is usually really low) is soaring--just sitting there at my desk, I'm so stressed out that it affects me physically. That makes me angry, actually: I like being busy at work, but that level of stress is not acceptable.

I've been trying to set boundaries lately, like Candi and Shannon suggested--I've been pretty vocal about the fact that I won't work ridiculous hours (and by ridiculous, I mean staying until 1 a.m. or staying all night, which has happened regularly lately to some people at work). And I've been very vocal about the fact that I won't stay past 7 unless it's some sort of dire emergency, and not the result of the company understaffing for a project and expecting employees to act like martyrs. It's really stressful to take this stance, though, because there are so few people in the company who don't cave in and work all sorts of overtime to get projects done. So it's known to management what my position is, and my co-workers know it...I guess we'll see what happens when push comes to shove on a crazy project. I think more than half my problem about it is that I'm really anxious about what will happen to me and my job when I flat out refuse to work until midnight or later on a rush job. It hasn't happened to me yet, but I *worry* that it will. x( One good thing is that I do have a supportive boss, who likes my work--and it's really hard for them to get good people to do my job. I've seen them go through 3 people already who just didn't work out--couldn't handle the job, even on nonstressful days.

Nancy: I hear you about walking. I think I'm going to make sure that I get a lunchtime walk--it's about 20 minutes to Gramercy Park and back, so that works for me. (Though I went there today and had to fight off the pigeons--wound up with pigeon poo on my jacket last week!!) Maybe you could get off the subway a stop or two early in the morning and walk the rest of hte way to work? Leave your good shoes at the office? I usually wear clogs, or, in the ankle-deep black puddles of slush I wear waterproof hiking boots. But I have a casual office. I guess it's a matter of getting into the habit and also just forcing yourself to do it at first.

Sorry so long on this post. It was really helpful to hear how other people cope with this sort of thing. I tend to just get so stressed out about it, and also, it's just difficult when you feel that you're the only one in your entire company who feels this way--I wind up feeling guilty that all my co-workers are suffering because I'm not doing enough work (though I get all my projects done on time and with good results.....).

Anyhow, thanks so much!
 
Bunbun,

One more comment here and I'll leave you alone.

It was also very stressful for me to set my boundaries, but I knew I had to do this in order to stay mentally and physically healthy. There are very many martyrs where I work, too, which does make it hard on the rest of us. But the martyrs I know only get satisfaction from their jobs. Their home lives suck and are they are overweight, on blood pressure and cholesterol medicine and have a heck of a lot more absenteeism than I do. Just keep that in mind.

Also, please don't forget your value in the workplace. Remind yourself every day that your employer is lucky to have you :)
 
Thanks, Candi. I really appreciate the support. I agree with you completely about the martyrs at work--I see the same thing at my office. Interestingly, I spoke to a temp person we ahve working for us about this topic today, too. She is adamant about setting boundaries, so that's yet another person "on my side."
 
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