Entrepreneur Resources Your source for small business information
Who is your most annoying Facebook friend? I’ll tell you who mine is: someone I actually adore in real life who – for all that is good and holy – cannot stop telling everyone how busy she is. She never sleeps, and when she does, it’s only cat naps. Because. She.Is. That. Busy. I am convinced it is pathological.
On national holidays she posts that while “everyone else” is enjoying the day off she’s hard at work. I am sick to death of her 48- or 72-hour straight work days. She’s never heard of employee benefits. If I never hear about how she hasn’t had a vacation in years, it will be way, way, way too soon. And, here’s the irony: despite her repeated, and oh-so-emphatic claims she can’t remember her last day off, she has been out-of-town (curiously, at beach resorts), literally more than twice as many times as I have. These away trips are couched in scouting for work (curious-er” always a destination location) or family or school reunions that she “has” to attend, and always with the caveat that she is in the room “working” while everyone else is doing what you’re supposed to do on holiday.
Busy Work
She is the epitome of what’s called “the culture of being busy” that is prevalent nowadays. Writer Lisa Evans wrote that logging long hours in your work and complaining about it is a status symbol for some people.
The Guardian (U.K) noted that many people are suffering from being busy and they are talking about it. Complaining and whining about it has become a status symbol, a mark of social status … for those who live a life of material privilege (and this describes my friend perfectly.)
Just. Stop. Bragging.
I want to beg my friend to please, please, just stop: Bragging about being busy is not a badge of honour, no matter what ethic you insist your work-a-holic mother instilled in you.
Are You Really More Important Than Everyone Else You Know or Ever Met?
What my Facebook friend’s relentless posts say to me is how much more important she is than me (and her other 642 Facebook friends). The message is abundantly clear: “I’m so much busier/important/valued than you.”
But what does this say to her employers? If it says anything, it tells them they should be wary. Employers know the facts. The Harvard Business Review estimates employees devote some 90 to 120 minutes of work before they become distracted by social media. They know just because your posterior is sitting in an office chair, in your cubicle (or if you’re lucky, your own office), it doesn’t necessarily mean you are consistently towing the company line.
Are You Inefficient?
Employers are more than likely to think that you’re not working efficiently, that you’re not organized and, you do not – absolutely do not – know how to manage your time. Now that, my friend(s) is nothing to brag about.
More importantly, it also means: how effectively are you really working if you claim to put in 10- or 12-hour days daily, and lament you do not get overtime? How mindful are you of your own time management? Even for those who are literally wholly focused on work, the HBR puts it simply: it’s working hard vs. working smart. This means, you do not have to put in those crazy hours you claim. If you really do, then there’s a big chance you are not doing your employers any favours (lack of focus and fatigue never make for the best output), and you are also not doing yourself any favours or letting yourself enjoy employee benefits.
What They Really Think of You
Employers are more apt to believe you are:
- Not a good multitasker
- Bad with time-management
- Doing unnecessary or irrelevant tasks
- Don’t know how to delegate
- An inadequate planner
- Spending too much time complaining
There is an old saying, and for God’s sake, adopt it: “No one ever, on their deathbed, said ‘I did not spend enough time working,’” and you shouldn’t either.
