Man Says It's 'Insane' That We've Normalized Spending So Much Time Away From The People We Love To Work Full-Time
He insisted that this country's work culture is a direct harm to our mental health.
DC Studio | Shutterstock When you spend more than 40 hours a week at work, it's nearly impossible to have a fulfilling social life outside of the office. It often feels like there's little time to do anything other than work, eat, sleep, and repeat.
Business owner and content creator Jarek Lewis is fed up with this reality. In a recent TikTok, he stressed just how "insane" is that we've normalized spending more time at work than with our friends and family.
He said it's 'insane' that we've normalized spending time away from our loved ones to work full-time.
"At least back in the day, it was only the man of the house doing it, and his salary actually was able to afford things," Lewis said. "But now it's both adults."
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Even in dual-income households, people worry about affording their bills, rent, groceries, and childcare, especially given inflation and today's high cost of living. "You just have to hope and pray for a raise every year and hope that it beats inflation," Lewis said, "but most of the time it doesn't."
What's worse, he added, is just how long you must keep up this untenable lifestyle.
"It is also normal to do that for 50 years before you get your freedom. You know, once you're too old to even enjoy it," he said. "Fifty years of pointless meetings, 50 years of spending more time with your co-workers than the people you love. For what?"
He's not wrong — the average retirement age in the U.S. is 62, but that number has been on the rise since the 1990s. This year, Social Security's full retirement age — when workers can start claiming their full benefits — is set to increase again as well.
The average life expectancy in the U.S. was 77.5 in 2022, according to the National Center for Health Statistics. As Lewis pointed out, "That's less than 20 years on average of actual freedom." In fact, it's just over 15.
"We've normalized that. Like everyone still signs up for student loans to buy into the system. Everyone still just gets their job and doesn't do anything about it," Lewis added. "They complain about it, but complaining isn't actually doing anything about it. Everyone just goes along with the system and perpetuates it."
"I just wonder every day how much longer you guys are gonna put up with this modern-day slavery because that's what it is," he bluntly concluded.
Spending the majority of your time at work has consequences.
SHRM’s Employee Mental Health in 2024 Research Series found that 44% of U.S. employees feel burned out at work, 45% feel “emotionally drained” from their job, and 51% feel “used up” at the end of the workday.
When employees feel drained at their job, it doesn't just impact their quality of work but also how they're showing up outside of the office. It becomes difficult to be present for your loved ones, take care of your health, or complete necessary household chores.
If you feel exhausted and sluggish after work, you may want to self-isolate, needing to decompress. Yet that same time is the only time you have to socialize with the people you love.
America has consistently pushed this "live to work" mentality, but as Lewis pointed out, it only creates a cycle of exhaustion and isolation where everyone — except the corporations — loses.
Nia Tipton is a staff writer with a bachelor's degree in creative writing and journalism who covers news and lifestyle topics that focus on psychology, relationships, and the human experience.