Overworked, underpaid

OK OK. I hear you. Some of you would complain, but I am really overworked. I believe you. Just a few percentage of this country would fall into this category. Then, the question is, overworked because of yourself, or because of your boss?

My mum is terribly overworked too. Occasionally, she complains that the family does not help her out enough, blah blah blah. But if you look at it, my mum would go this way too:

1. I better buy the fish. If you buy it, you might buy something that is not fresh.
2. I will get the broom, and other utensils. The boss knows me - he will give me a discount.
3. I will cook, if you cook, we might not get dinner / burn dinner / etc.
4. I will hang the clothes out - you won't know how to put it on the hanger properly. 
5. Let me cook the soup - I will know how it should taste like.
6. Don't worry - I will mop the floor. You all will just simply mop and do a bad job.
7. Where did you buy these mangoes from? It's not from my usual shop. These ones are not sweet.

See the problem? She doesn't delegate work, doesn't trust others to do it, and doesn't allow others to mess it up and learn. It's the same problem in the workplace. Do you trust others? Let others mess it up?

But you will say "It is a very important meeting, I will prepare the presentation". Why not let others have a go? If you are that good, you can still fix what others have screwed up. (We could still go for pizza if dinner was really burnt). 

If one keeps saying all these, at the end of the day - no one will do anything.  Or no one will bother to help out. Other will reply "If you are so good, you do it on your own la". Hence, you end up working 28 hours a day, 7 days a week without annual leave or medical leave. 

Let's get real. If dinner was perfect, does this mean we won't have to die? If the presentation was 100% rite, does this mean you get a 100% pay raise? Or if the mangoes were sour, will the world end tomorrow? Oh come one. Life goes on. Get real. And what happens if you are not there one day? No one lives forever. So, isn't it better to train successors / children / staff while you are around to guide them?

Time to work smart. Give others a chance. Spend more time with hubby / wife / gf / bf / mistress / toy boy. If you are a husband / wife - make sure you satisfy each other in bed / bathroom / kitchen / couch. That is one task that should not be delegated to others. Sadly - I have seen too often intimacy being sub-contracted out.