How much is your time worth?

The other day I was reflecting on whether it is really all worth it giving up your time for a hefty paycheck.  After all, it does pay the bills…and more.  But if you don’t have time to enjoy any of it, does it really matter whether you have all the money in the world?

Should we just wait for our retirement to be able to enjoy the fruits of our labor?  But you say, “it’s why we have vacations throughout the year!”

Is that really the case?

Tell that to a father who has to give up attending his son’s birthday just to fix an “emergency” situation at the office.

Or to the proud mother who has to miss her daughter’s recital just so she can keep the business going during a “major” software upgrade.

Or to the countless call center agents who are on a “graveyard-shift” struggling to stay awake, feeling like zombies while listening to endless rants and complaints from angry customers on Christmas day!

Over the years, I’ve personally observed how our own personal time is being taken upside down.  There’s no such thing as a vacation anymore. Or even a holiday for that matter.  The dates to celebrate  holidays keep on changing.   Your boss allows you to have a vacation, only if you agree to be “on-call”…which literally means, you can’t go anywhere but within 100 meter radius from the office.  It doesn’t make sense.  It’s depressing, especially for a hardworking office worker who doesn’t have any choice other than quitting the job.

So, who makes the rules?  Who makes a 40-hour workweek, a 45-hour one, or even a 60-hour one?  Who says you can only take holidays only if the business doesn’t need you anymore?

Who decides how you spend your time?

Is it really you?…Or someone else.