As you may or may not know about me, I work in the software industry. Most of my friends are academics and many have a PhD. It's fair to say that I live in a bubble of highly trained individuals. So I don't know if what I'm about to write can be transferred to other groups, but a trend I have seen is that people cut down on working hours to spend more time ... relaxing. It almost feels like, among those who can afford it, it has become a trend to just work less. Some even say that they have tried a 40 hour work week but felt that they "couldn't handle it". And this bothers me.
At first I thought I was jealous. After all, having more time to do whatever I want does sound appealing. So people asked me why I didn't cut down on working hours as well and I had no good answer, really. I thought that maybe there was some blockage in my head that told me I shouldn't because of what I owe to society or whatever the remnants of the moral doctrine I grew up with used as an explanation.
But then it hit me. I'm not reducing my hours because I don't want to work less. I. want. to. work. more! I'm not bothered by people reducing their hours out of jealousy at all. I just find it annoying that they spread this lethargy. I find it annoying that there is so much acceptance for it. It's really difficult for me to reach peak performance in an environment where nobody cares. It's really difficult to be be productive when I'm the last person in the office. It's really difficult to be the best version of myself if I use a value system that has been abolished by everyone else.
Its one of these moments again where I'm feeling like I don't belong here. I don't know how to continue this post, so I'll just leave it at that. It won't make a difference anyways, because nobody cares.
