5 Ways Your Job Can KILL You

Are you overworked in your current job? I know that I am. Just last week I put in over 72 hours earning my active income. While that is not the normal work week, I still typically average at least 60 hours each week.

Holding down a steady job provides many critical things for most families to survive. Money, insurance, and a sense of financial security are all common benefits of going into work each day. But when do the disadvantages of a job become greater than the benefits? That is what I am facing today and am sure several of you out there are going through the same thing.

I have identified 5 reasons below of how my job is having a negative impact on my life.

5 Ways Your Job can Kill You

1. Stress – Most jobs cause undue stress for people. Whether it be pending deadlines, issues with your boss, lack of compensation, or your daily commute – having a job adds stress to your live. Over time as the stress continues to build, you are more prone to heart disease and other medical conditions.
2. Bad Habits – I don’t know about you, but working 72 hours per week doesn’t allow much time for exercise. If you are logging these kinds of hours, then it is also probably difficult for you to get to the doctor or dentist for routine checkups.
3. Diet – Do you feel like cooking or even packing your lunch when you work 50, 60, 70+ hour per week? That is the last thing that I want to do when I get home every evening. Instead, you are more prone to eat out all the time which over time is much less healthy than cooking your own food.
4. Depression – Do you have a spouse and children? Chances are if you are logging many hours at the office, you probably don’t see your family that much. This is the case with me and I often feel very depressed being locked up in the office instead of playing catch with my boys!
5. Sleep – So you are working over 50 hours each week, trying to spend some quality time with your kids, take care of household chores, etc. Something just doesn’t add up, as there are only 24 hours in each day. In order to make time to accomplish your daily or weekly tasks, what gets sacrificed? SLEEP! Most people who work long hours don’t get enough sleep in their day which can lead to health complications down the line.

Stress, lack of exercise, an unhealthy diet, depression, and lack of sleep are factors that can eventually kill you. Maybe not right away, but over time these factors (as well as others) can cause medical conditions that will have a direct impact on your health.

What Can you Do?

The purpose of the post is not to scare or alarm anyone. These are actually factors that I am going through right now with my job. Instead of letting my destiny be dictated by my employer, I am taking action.

Building passive income is my solution. Each and every day I am working hard to bring in more income to provide for my family through alternative sources. As time goes by, I will be phasing out my active income streams in place of passive ones.

How do you cope with factors like the ones listed above in your job?