Elise Vandeplancke
Summary.
There’s plenty of evidence that overwork is damaging to our health and the health of our organizations. Yet powerful internal and external forces nudge us to check one more email, attend one more meeting, or make one more phone call. Four new books address the question of how to deal with this widespread problem: Over Work, by Brigid Schulte; Ambition Monster, by Jennifer Romolini; What Work Means, by Claudia Strauss; and The Rest Revolution, by Amanda Miller Littlejohn.It’s 1 PM on a beautiful Saturday afternoon. A few months back you told your editor you would write an essay on overwork for an upcoming issue of the magazine at which you’re employed. However, you’ve been slammed with other assignments and projects and are preparing, physically and mentally, for a medical procedure and time off to recover. The clock is ticking, and your draft is on the verge of being late.