What is it about Americans that make us work so hard? Do we actually enjoy :

• neck pain
• headaches
• ulcers
• cancer
• insomnia
• endless commutes
• nightmares about work related issues
• wearing clothes that are naturally uncomfortable
• digerati devices attached to us so we can never escape the grips of work

If we don’t enjoy it, then why do we allow ourselves to be subjected to it? Is it the smell of green, the necessity to stay busy, or just a way to keep food on the table?

Whatever the reason, the corporate lifestyle is getting to be quite ridiculous. The balance between work and life in the United States is more out of proportion now than it ever has. The corporate mantra nowadays is “turn a profit at all costs” and “Innovate? Nah, lets just go buy that other company and be done with it”. Greed and wealth have negatively affected the behavior of leaders, and employees end up over the proverbial barrel.

For many, getting anything productive done is a red tape bureaucratic nightmare. It takes weeks of arguing and brown-nosing just to affect miniscule change. Acquisitions, consolidations, and reorganizations add to the futility of trying to be a productive and hardworking individual. The smart employees who actually can make a difference get frustrated and either leave or give up.

There is a solution. Rather than quit and look for another job, another option introduced in The 5 Habits, is to embrace the advent of Slackism. The concept is rooted off the definition of careerism, and is defined as “the policy or practice of advancing one’s available leisure time at the financial and productivity cost of a corporation”.

Why put forth a genuine effort when there will be no genuine result? Wouldn’t it be far more productive to spend that time getting paid to plan the family vacation, hit an early golf game, get weekend chores done, or finish off that novel you’ve been leafing through the past two years? Nothing in the corporate world is worth having work nightmares, ulcers, or worse yet, twelve plus hour days for a job or employer one despises.

I sincerely hope you enjoy The 5 Habits and use it to enrich your life.