We all worry about our performance at work, doing what we can to show our worth to our bosses. But, there are a whole handful of people who just can’t seem to take it down a notch. Far from being the ultimate employee, people who don’t pace themselves at work have a hard time lasting in their position–they get burnt out. Part of being a worth while employee is having a work ethic that will keep you going day after day.
For example, I’m a Salt Lake City DUI attorney and this year the law office I work for had a summer intern. I swear at first she worked so hard that I wanted to fire myself, but after about a month her performance really dropped. She started showing up late for work, her paperwork got sloppy and she wasn’t paying as close attention in court.
Finally, I confronted her and asked her if everything was all right, and she told me that she felt completely overwhelmed. I gave her a couple of days off and told her to take it easy if she was feeling stressed. When she came back to work the following week she had completely bounced back, and the work that she produced returned to its original quality.
The more I’ve talked to people about this kind of thing, the more apparent it has become that a lot of people struggle to find balance between hard work that is productive, and hard work that is unrealistic in the long term. It can also be a challenge as a boss trying to give your employees helpful encouragement.
The above story shows how much of a balancing act it can be to stay motivated at work. We ended up hiring that intern at the end of the summer, and I’m convinced that she has a promising future as a DUI attorney. All that really stood in her way in the first place is a little reassurance that it’s okay to take it easy sometimes.
