I am extremely puzzled by the nature of “everyday” v. “work” mentality.
In the world outside of work (that includes family, friends, the media, books, general culture, the internet), we all agree on a few basic tenets of reality. In fact medical professionals, lifestyle gurus, and psychologists don't hesitate to remind us of them frequently.
These tenets are:
-look after yourself
– stay healthy through eating good food, excercising, having regular health checkups (well, maybe not in the UK, but you get the idea)
– get plenty of rest when you are ill
-cultivate your relationships- having no good relationships can lead to issues such as dementia
– get enough sleep
Furthermore we also have the tenets of “pursue your passion”, “develop yourself”, “grow as a person” etc.
These are almost universally accepted as “good things”, “reasonable things”, “things to aspire to”.
We are judged if our lifestyles don't conform to this, and we are told to make adjustments, to match that, for example exercise more or to get more sleep.
Yet, as soon as we are at work, some people start professing a different set of values: you are weak if you call in sick, you are letting your team down if you want to leave early for a family reason, and you are being a spoiled brat for wanting to attend that evening class.
I have encountered that in almost every sector I have worked in apart from the public sector, where they tend to do more of “do as they preach”.
Just where do these people with these attitudes come from? It feels like they only exist in the reality of work. Do most people cultivate a double mindset? One for the outside work, and one for work? Are normal principles meant to go out of the window, during the work day?
So “get some rest” told to your partner, but “you are lazy” implied to your employee? “Breathe fresh air”, but “sit in fumes, because you are at work and you are weak for not doing it”?
That seems somewhat psychotic.