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With so many people suffering from sub-health, it’s becoming harder to say that the condition is a matter of work-life balance. While it’s more prevalent among city dwellers than those living in China’s towns and villages, urban competition is not the sole culprit. What’s the deeper cause? I think self-interest may be the driving factor.
Since the 1970s, people’s social lives have expanded dramatically. Everything has become monetized, and everyone is trying to achieve the fullest utilization of his or her “capital.” The most capable competitors – people like Apple co-founder Steve Jobs or Facebook CEo Mark Zuckerberg – are rewarded with large returns on personal investment.
In big cities, those who want to maximize the return on one’s “capital” must keep working and studying to win more opportunities. Prolonged working hours and high-pressure environments become a necessity. Many workers lose their ability to rest effectively.
My most stressful days date back to 2010 when I worked for the Shanghai World Expo during its preparations period. I was swamped preparing documents and attending meetings, and burned the midnight oil until two or three in the morning trying to meet all my deadlines. Due to the lack of sleep and heavy workload, I often felt tired and found it difficult to recover even after resting.
After the Expo, my life reverted back to my normal academic one, which involved thinking long and hard, and to write papers. Living my life at a desk left my body and mind again overstrained.
I think for people in intellect-heavy professions, especially academics, it’s necessary to leave the room and take up more outdoor activities such as swimming, jogging or mountain climbing. Watching movies can help, too. The important thing is to completely relax the body and mind.
Many intellectuals expect too much from themselves. But because salaries, holidays and other time off are inadequate, unsatisfactory or completely disregarded, those working in creative and academic fields end up working overtime and under sub-par health conditions.
China is in a period of rapid urbanization and industrialization. Its human capital is in an equally rapid process of multiplication. This situation requires a large amount of highly effective people to deal with tasks, and it may seem totally normal to overwork and always be busy. But in this environment, individuals are powerless. The only choice, perhaps, is to try to take that personal power back and to actively take care of oneself.
Since the 1970s, people’s social lives have expanded dramatically. Everything has become monetized, and everyone is trying to achieve the fullest utilization of his or her “capital.” The most capable competitors – people like Apple co-founder Steve Jobs or Facebook CEo Mark Zuckerberg – are rewarded with large returns on personal investment.
In big cities, those who want to maximize the return on one’s “capital” must keep working and studying to win more opportunities. Prolonged working hours and high-pressure environments become a necessity. Many workers lose their ability to rest effectively.
My most stressful days date back to 2010 when I worked for the Shanghai World Expo during its preparations period. I was swamped preparing documents and attending meetings, and burned the midnight oil until two or three in the morning trying to meet all my deadlines. Due to the lack of sleep and heavy workload, I often felt tired and found it difficult to recover even after resting.
After the Expo, my life reverted back to my normal academic one, which involved thinking long and hard, and to write papers. Living my life at a desk left my body and mind again overstrained.
I think for people in intellect-heavy professions, especially academics, it’s necessary to leave the room and take up more outdoor activities such as swimming, jogging or mountain climbing. Watching movies can help, too. The important thing is to completely relax the body and mind.
Many intellectuals expect too much from themselves. But because salaries, holidays and other time off are inadequate, unsatisfactory or completely disregarded, those working in creative and academic fields end up working overtime and under sub-par health conditions.
China is in a period of rapid urbanization and industrialization. Its human capital is in an equally rapid process of multiplication. This situation requires a large amount of highly effective people to deal with tasks, and it may seem totally normal to overwork and always be busy. But in this environment, individuals are powerless. The only choice, perhaps, is to try to take that personal power back and to actively take care of oneself.