I Can’t Work 8 Hours A Day : What Should I Do?

We, humans, need to work on a daily basis. The work is of different types. It may be office work or some chores at our house. It may be a walk to the nearest grocery store to do groceries, or it can even be something related to your studies, like research for a particular project you were given. Only some people can work continuously, and each human has the capacity to work. Some can work non-stop for 2 hours, some for four, and some even for eight, but only some can do this. Some people always need some break or a source of relaxation between work. Let us know ‘I Can’t Work 8 Hours A Day’.

I Can’t Work 8 Hours A Day

I Can’t Work 8 Hours A Day

Understandably, not everyone can work 8 hours a day without feeling burnt out or unproductive. They lose their energy and start looking for something to give them energy or motivation to work. They start looking for ways to motivate themselves. They try to use their skills so working can become easy and they find ways to prioritize what is important to complete first and do the rest later which requires less energy. 

If you want to find a solution to continuously working 8 hours long or need to find ways to keep yourself entertained while working so, reading our article and learns ways to make your 8-hour long work bearable.

An 8-hour workday:

The 8-hour workday is a standard practice in many countries. The employees are given 8 hours to work in a single day. Their work time mostly starts from morning 8 am or sometimes 9 am, but they start working from that time till the next 8 hours. They get a break for lunch in between, which lasts about an hour. This 8-hour schedule is a standard in many countries, but some also vary according to their feasibility.

The concept of an 8-hour workday originated in the 19th century due to labor movements and efforts to improve working conditions. Before that, it was common for workers to work much longer hours, sometimes up to 16 hours per day, six days a week.

Today, an 8-hour work day is often considered a full-time work day, and many employers offer benefits such as health insurance and retirement plans to employees who work full-time. Some companies may also offer flexible schedules, allowing employees to work long hours on some days and shorter hours on others or to work remotely. Overall, the 8-hour workday has become a standard that has helped to balance the needs of employers and employees, and it remains an important benchmark for fair labor practices.

Working for 8 hours and health:

Working continuously for 8 hours may have some positive and negative effects on your health due to various factors in the working conditions and environment.

Positive effect: 

  1. Working for 8 hours may reward you with a well-paid income, and hence you can have a financially stable lifestyle.
  2. You may interact with different people at the workplace, and hence having healthy conversations with them is good for mental health.
  3. Working for 8 hours may give you a lot of new things to learn, and it may help you to improve and develop your carrier further, which will help you in your job.
  4. Working can create a sense of purpose when you accomplish a task or a given duty. It will make you feel happy, which improves your overall well-being.

Negative effects:

  1. Staring at a computer screen at your workplace and working may cause you eyestrain. You develop a headache, fatigue, and eyestrain from continuous screen-watching.
  2. High workload, job insecurity, and other work-related stressors can lead to chronic stress, which can increase the risk of various mental and physical health problems.
  3. If you keep sitting in a particular position for too long, it can turn into a sedentary lifestyle. A person in this kind of state develops high risks of various health problems like heart disease, obesity, diabetes, etc.
  4. Working for 8 hours a day can leave little time for exercise and physical activity, which are essential for maintaining good health.

These above explained are some physical and mental benefits as well as disadvantages of working 8 hours a day.

Things that can help you work for 8 hours:

Well, not everyone has the capacity to work for 8 hours a day, but we can always have some alternative to everything. Humans can always come up with different solutions for the same problem, so here are some suggestions that can also help you to work 8 hours a day:

Division:

If we have something more than we can carry, we always divide it and give some to our partners or sometimes leaves it and come back for it, and this same division method can be applied to our work. You can always Break up your workday into smaller, more manageable chunks of time according to your ease. For example, you could work for two hours, take a 30-minute break, work for another two hours, take another break, and so on. The American system is also designed in a flexible way that prioritizes workers’ choices about work time.

Priority:

We always prioritize the most important things in life, and this can also apply to our work as you can try to prioritize your most important tasks during the times of day when you feel the most productive. This way, you can maximize your efficiency during those periods and not waste time on less important tasks when you’re feeling less productive. This will lead to the accomplishment of both important and less important tasks.

Physical health:

If your physical health is good, doing other things becomes easy for you, so you have to always Ensure you’re taking care of your physical health. Try to have enough sleep, have a well-balanced diet a part of daily life, and exercise regularly. When your body is healthy and well-rested, you’ll have more energy and be able to work more efficiently. This will lead to you doing your work at a good speed, and you may even finish all your tasks a day before the 8-hour workday.

Communicate with seniors:

Consider talking to your supervisor or HR representative about possibly adjusting your work schedule or workload to suit your needs better. You can work fewer hours per day but still accomplish the same amount of work as you would be working in an environment and period that best suits you and would be according to your comfort, which will make you want to work more.

Work according to your preference:

If you find work according to your own choice, you will be able to work more easily. Look for a job that involves your hobbies and you enjoy working in that area. You can also look for other factors in finding a job that will make you work without thinking about the 8-hour-long schedule. You may look for jobs you like, and if they pay you more money, then the 8-hour-long workday may not bother you at all.

Utilize your skills:

If you are a skilled person, then these skills may help you a lot in handling the 8-hour workday. Using your skills may help you finish your work much faster. Time management can always help you manage your workload according to your time. Your communication skills may help you communicate with your co-workers and boss better and may help you with your workload. Skills such as stress management can also be of great help through the continued stress of workload and help you maintain a well mental and emotional personality.

Be your own boss:

If you still can’t work 8 hours a day, you can simply start a business. You can own some context, meaning you become an entrepreneur or start a business and hire other people to work for you. This will lessen your workload, and you won’t have to work 8 hours a day; instead, you’ll supervise the people working for you.

Finally, be kind to yourself and recognize that it’s okay if you can’t work for 8 hours straight. Everyone has different capacities for work, and it’s important to find a schedule and workload that works best for you. You can follow these suggestions to work 8 hours a day.

Conclusion:

Working 8 hours a day may seem tough for you, but you can still manage to work for such a long period with some management skills and other things to apply to your workload. Working some jobs for longer hours may be easy, and some may be quite difficult, but you must develop certain abilities to cope with these. You also need to take good care of your physical and mental well-being because just thinking about the work may lead you to develop illness and eventually lose your job. So, you can manage to work in an 8-hour long work day but always have to keep some things in mind.

Frequently asked questions:
  1. Is the 8-hour long workday standard across all countries? 

No, some countries have longer or shorter work hours for their employees, and some workers need to work longer like doctors need to be present in a hospital most of the time.

  1. What are some common effects of 8 hours of the work day on your health? 

The most common effects of working for much longer periods are eyestrain, headache, and fatigue.

I Can’t Work 8 Hours A Day : What Should I Do?

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