Huffington Post offers an interesting blog post from Dharmesh Shah, the CTO of of HubSpot. Shah says “you should never leave work on time.” His point is that many people work at jobs that are boring and make them watch the clock. I agree with him that a good job should be part of our life, that we should stay at work sometimes to meet a late deadline or to help a co-worker.
However, I think this good advice can have a negative side as well. Many people I know never leave work at their schedule time. Their schedule is open-ended. They take work home and come to the office on the weekends. Even if they love their job, there is too much work because many companies have come to think that the secret to productivity is under staffing.
Life needs balance. Too often now, the balance is weighted in favor of the employer. A writer I greatly admire, Seth Godin, has said things similar to Shah. As an entrepreneur, I agree with them. I frequently work late and often am in the office seven days a week. However, that is my choice. For many employees, the company they work for asks for more and more. In these cases, I strongly disagree with Shah. Too many people are carrying their jobs home in a way that destroys lives and family. Employers and employees both need to recognize that work is part of life, but not all of it. There is a time to leave work and start living.
Career Calling 