Photo by Element5 Digital on Unsplash
The summer holidays are over. Brussels is slowly coming back to life after its sleepy summer. We’re coming back into the traditional return to work.
I actually am enjoying a sense of energy in the air. It’s nice to have things happening again in this town. I’ve spent quite a lot of time here in the summer. I enjoyed the peace and quiet, but it’s also felt a little empty. Now, there’s a bunch of events around town over the next weeks for me to look forward to.
It seems like a rest has done people some good. many people will feel the heightened political tensions, but this is particularly the case in the political hubs such as Brussels. Disconnection is what keeps us from getting too caught up in work and forgetting to live.
Yet the rest people get these days is relative. In the past, summer meant total disconnection. These days, who can really disconnect for more than a week or two? It’s becoming increasingly difficult to do so without getting caught up about work anyway, not to mention the unfolding of war and politics.
The reality of our working lives has shifted. Gone are the days when we could follow a more traditional boom-and-bust model. Before, it was possible to work hard, long hours but then take extended time off for Christmas and summer to recharge. The modern day schedule is one where the workloads have only increased. Now, it requires a far more sustained approach over all 12 months.
Ironically, some of us face the hardest work during the summer break. We can find ourselves the only person ‘on-call’ in August when something urgent comes in. Suddenly we have to deal with a topic that we have little understanding of, or well above our pay grade. It’s not a fun situation to deal with, particularly if you’ve just come back from your own early-summer holiday.
My aim (or perhaps it is a plea) is for a more sustainable approach to living. It’s been three years since the end of the official COVID pandemic, and we can no longer use it as an excuse for messy working cultures or lack of social interaction.
I feel like people are slowly making this shift. We’re seeing a growth of in-person social events and networking. Community creations are rebuilding their roots after having them ripped up due to the lockdown.
I hosted my local Toastmasters club yesterday, and the energy felt vibrant. After a good number of years of struggling to get numbers, people are increasingly coming out to build real-world connections again.
As for work culture, I can only hope it gets better. Burnout rates are out of control. Perhaps a few years of heavy churn and self-implosion may make some organisations reflect on their practices. But maybe I’m still stuck in wishful thinking.
Yet we always have more power than we realise. Don’t be afraid to fight for your right to a healthy, safe and sustainable working practice. If people are reasonable, they will see that stressed, last minute work (and potential burnout) is to the benefit of no one. And if they’re not reasonable, well, there’s a reason that labour laws exist. Don’t be afraid to enforce your rights if you need to. I certainly have numerous times in my career.
My invitation to you is to set up this new year in a way that is productive, but also sustainable. Manage your workload, your social life, and time for yourself. Don’t wait till the situation is in the red-zone to act.