11 serious effects of overwork

The central idea for many entrepreneurs is to reduce costs and increase productivity. On the other hand, many workers want to have higher income, investing less time or suffering less burnout. Some people can fall into the deception of believing that overwork is an effective means for everyone to achieve their goal.. Nothing more false.

It is fully demonstrated that overwork – the workload beyond a certain point – reduces productivity and increases costs in the long term.. This is because a fatigued worker performs less and it is not uncommon for them to become ill in the medium or long term.

Thus, the employer must assume all or part of the cost of this paid absence. In turn, from the worker’s perspective, overtime may generate more income, but it will harm their efficiency and quality of life.

There are more and more voices that insist that overwork does not bring anything good. However, it is very difficult to change prejudices. The resistance to change is enormous. It seems to everyone, falsely, that they are going to lose a lot. However, that does not mean we should stop insisting on the issue and showing the serious effects of overworking, like the ones we present below.

11 consequences of overwork

It is more than proven that Excessive work has serious consequences for general health; which range from seemingly harmless conditions – such as memory loss and insomnia – to more serious problems such as depression, cardiovascular diseases and strokes.

To avoid its incidence, we must be aware of how overwork is affecting our health. That is why we detail the most common consequences below.

1. Depression, a serious risk of overwork

There are still many misconceptions about depression. There are those who believe that someone who is depressed is constantly crying or lives in a sadness of continuous darkness. Although this occurs in some cases, the Depression It also manifests itself through other symptoms such as irritability, apathy and great lack of motivation..

A person who works mechanically, letting himself be carried away by inertia, may be depressed; Just as a person who is constantly angry can be. And overwork contributes to this.

The nervious system he resents the lack of rest and the lack of variety. Therefore, there appears imperceptibly a feeling of being trapped. You feel more loneliness and greater depression.

When work takes up almost all of our time, we leave aside other activities that enrich us. Social relationships, physical exercise, reading… Any activity that helps us maintain good emotional health.

That is why it is so important to learn to set limits. Work is important to be able to survive economically, even if our work enriches us it will also bring us well-being. However, Achieving a balance between work, rest and enjoyment activities will be essential for our emotional well-being..

2. Memory leak

A strenuous day of work always exhausts our energy. You set goals to meet and you have to use a good amount of resources to achieve them. In these conditions, anguish becomes a constant sensation.

Under those circumstances There is greater production of cortisol, the stress hormone. It has been proven that this substance affects brain areas related to memory and learning.

3. Sleeping difficulties

Overwork and lack of sleep are a very dangerous combination. Unfortunately they usually appear combined. Work overload keeps you in a state of constant tension. So much so that sometimes you can’t turn off the button and disconnect to sleep.

When we are unable to disconnect from work once we cross the door of the house, it is normal for sleep problems to appear. We are invaded by thoughts about what happened during the day or what will happen the next day. In this point, It is important to learn to differentiate between work and personal life.

Lack of sleep increases all the emotional and physical difficulties generated by overwork.. It depresses you more, stresses you more and increases the risk of contracting diseases and having fewer resources to overcome them if they occur.

The practice of full attention or mindfulness It is a technique that can help us disconnect from work when we get home. Learning that the day has already passed and tomorrow has not arrived will help us stay in the present. In this way, it will be easier for us to enjoy the home or our leisure tasks without paying attention to work.

4. Muscle pain

Prolonging an activity for more hours than contracted also has serious consequences for the musculoskeletal system. Repetitive physical activities damage cartilage and joints. This is much more noticeable after 40 years of age.

In the case of those who work in an office, at a desk, the effects are just as serious or sometimes worse. According to the American Pain Foundation, if someone sits in the same position for more than 20 minutes, muscle damage occurs..

One of the pains most afflicted by those who work sitting is those related to the cervical spine. When we are in front of the computer we tend to hunch our back and bring our head closer to the screen.

In this way, we adopt a posture of cervical tension that affects the muscles, tendons and head. For this it will be important to acquire measures of postural hygiene.

5. Digestive problems

The digestive system is very sensitive to emotional components. He resents very easily to states of stress or depression. In fact, he is involved in them. When there is great distress, a chaotic secretion of gastric juices may begin. Furthermore, emotional tension is also reflected in the intestine.

Thus, it is not uncommon for the consequence of a period of overwork to lead to digestive problems.. Even more so if work overload leads to eating when you can or whatever you can. Problems with constipation, gastritis, etc. appear. In the long term, this temporary discomfort or burning sensation can become a more serious problem.

5. Chronic irritability

The dynamics of excessive work can become very invasive. There comes a point where you don’t even realize that this is not normal. You concentrate on completing your routine, but to do so you must live at the limit of your strength and ending each day with a greater loss of energy than you will be able to recover.

Even if you don’t notice it, something inside alerts you that this is not right. You frequently get fed up and find it difficult to maintain a good mood. You become irritable, even if you call it “perfectionism” or “responsibility.” Deep down it is a cry that tells you: “It is enough. You have to rest”.

6. Increased risk of diabetes

Diabetes is a very serious disease that can affect anyone. In this case, type B diabetes is closely related to the functioning of the biological clock. So, chaotic schedules become an important risk factor for contracting it.

7. Cardiovascular diseases

According to University College London, overworking can increase your risk of heart attack by 67%. This problem is linked to poor stress and anxiety management.which become chronic and lead to heart problems.

In this case, constant stress can strain the heart when increasing: blood pressure; cholesterol and triglyceride levels in the blood; inflammation in the body; and the rate of palpitations per minute.

At the same time, Chronic stress causes people to resort to bad habits such as smoking and consuming foods rich in fat, sugar and salt.; which undoubtedly increases the risk of suffering from cardiovascular diseases.

8. Strokes

For their part, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the International Labor Organization (ILO) have alerted the world population that Long working hours increase deaths from ischemic heart disease or strokes.

In this case, both organizations carried out a first global analysis of the loss of life and health resulting from long work hours; finding that, during the year 2016, 398,000 people died from a stroke and 347,000 from ischemic heart disease, as a result of having worked for 55 hours a week or more.

9. Burnout Syndrome

Also known as “burnout syndrome,” it is a consequence of chronic stress and extreme work schedules. Among its symptoms is a state of physical and mental exhaustion that lasts over time; high amounts of frustration and disappointment; as well as a deterioration in the worker’s self-esteem.

This syndrome is the prelude to severe disorders such as depression which, in some cases, can lead to suicide.

10. Substance abuse

High amounts of stress usually lead to the consumption of toxic substances, as an attempt to alleviate the discomfort experienced. In this case, the most common thing is that they resort to smoking and alcoholism. Although it is also normal to see the consumption of other more harmful drugs.

11. Weight gain

The high demand for work prevents workers from practicing healthy habits such as eating a balanced diet or physical exercise. Therefore, they run the risk of gaining weight and becoming obese.

Having said all this, is it really worth the extra money you are earning? Does your quality of life change too much if you start working a normal schedule? These are the questions I am going to ask you to answer.

In turn, employers should think about whether it is worth allowing their workers to expose themselves to such dangers. Bosses and employees would be surprised at what they can achieve if instead of promoting overwork they worried about finding a balance that does not produce saturation.

What to do when overworked?

The first thing is to keep in mind that No job is worth enough to harm our health and put our lives at risk.. Therefore, we must learn to recognize our limits and express them assertively.

For example, if your boss constantly assigns you responsibilities that exceed your workload, the ideal would be to talk to him and Let them know the amount of work you can take on per day or week without overwhelming yourself.

If you do not accept it, the ideal would be to go to the Human Resources department to discuss the matter and establish the amount of…