Spring Break 2.0

A few short weeks ago, everyone received a short period of respite from school during spring break. Whether that meant not coming into school buildings, not completing any homework, or perhaps just sleeping in a couple of extra hours each day: everyone likely had a different schedule. Hopefully, everyone enjoyed their time.

As I look back on my own, I was doing work. On the Saturday prior, I made a list of things to do during the free period. There was a lot I wanted to get done, including writing this blog post, getting ahead on class readings, and updating my resume and cover letter. During the week, I did take some time off. I spent one day laying on my bed and watching as much Netflix and YouTube as I desired, and some evenings I was out hanging with friends. Yet, I focused on completing my listed tasks for the great majority of the week. While these activities were things I voluntarily chose to do during my final spring break, a part of me started to think about the absence of such periods of freedom soon.

I’m sure this is popular elsewhere, but it seems that the American workplace has completely adhered to the notion that we must work ourselves to the brink every day. Countless working individuals take assignments home with them at night, spend weekends completing projects and even spend vacation time busy on their work devices answering emails and the like. To be productive in society, you have to be on the go constantly. It is as if we can never get ahead either. Once we finish one assignment, work piles up and up in another. I am not a fan of this type of work environment.

Our society should value time off and relaxation because it is during those times that people can recharge and become more productive. Taking time to be lazy is not a sin but needed medicine. If we merely work people to the ground every day, there will become a point when they have nothing left to give; they will experience burnout and potentially even quit working altogether. This was shown to be possible during the great resignation. The resignation describes the numerous people who voluntarily quit their job in 2021. One hallmark is that people did not return to work right away. They spent time determining what they valued at work, whether it was higher pay, flexible work hours, greater autonomy, or benefits? People realized through this movement that their work is not the end all be all, so much more matters in life. While it does not always get to this extreme, people experience more illnesses, have problems maintaining relationships with loved ones, and lose sight of their hobbies when they are overburdened with work. This type of environment is not healthy.

So perhaps I did the wrong thing with my spring break. I followed the trend of countless Americans who fail to create a healthy work-life balance during time off. During spring break I spent my days writing essays and reading textbooks. But I promise now that this will change when I am in the workforce. I will take time off once I get a job, and not feel guilty for doing so. When on vacation, my work phone will not be attached to my palm, and instead I will be lazily lying on the beach getting a tan. How about you?