just you, your work and the hum of a quiet office

Sometimes you just need to work late. Sometimes the office (once everyone else has left for the day) is a very good environment to get a lot accomplished in a little amount of time. There is nothing to distract (again, this applies to those moments when nobody else is there) and you have all of your usual work tools needed to get the important tasks - that just can’t wait - completed.

AND isn’t it a Great feeling to go home with a very clear head? Nothing to stress about until the next day; a few more “to do” items done. And it this also seems to bring a little more energy into the next morning because you’re going in happy that there aren’t as many dragons to slay. What’s not to love?

On the other hand, just what did you lose by staying a little late? You might have missed out on some quality time with the kiddos, spouse/partner, friends - or just having some very (also) important “me time.” Downtime is also really really good for the soul and when you find yourself working a lot of extra hours - you’ll realize that it may just not be that great in the long run at the office. Those hours start to become expected, maybe, just because “somehow” everything still gets taken care of. Who knows why overtime is a touchy subject. When it’s a case of expected, repeated overtime - there are two general causes (combined or separate):
not enough staff to meet the company needs (tough battle to prove)
poor time management by the employee (tough pill to swallow!)

Expected OT hours generates poor attitudes because there is usually a lack of appreciation of the time you’re giving (btw - this is TOTALLY null and void if you’re: a) getting paid overtime pay, b) can include these as billable hours that will be reflected in your pay, or c) if you own your on business). Somewhere, somehow - expect a mutiny. It could be physical: you might get sick, because you haven’t slept as well, eaten as healthy, taken the time to exercise . . . . or it could be mental: poor work attitude is a perfect way to sabotage a strong career.

Just do everything you can to avoid giving too much of your personal time to the office. Really use that workday to get everything possibly done that could be in order to avoid the OT crutch because “downtime” allows you to recharge and gain more energy for the next day. Every once in a while, though, working late really does help to give a little time to get a big project completed and a good, stress-free night of sleep! Like a guilty pleasure.