Ciaran’s Omnipurpose Blog

How productive are you?

Is your second home a desk?

Do you put the hours in?

Are you passionate enough about your job?

Will you go the extra mile?

Maybe these people are committed and passionate. Or maybe they’re just terrified about getting sacked. Or maybe they’re burning the candle at both ends: doing charity work maybe, or training for a triathlon.

But then the news tells us that we work the longest hours in Europe and we’re not necessarily the most productive either.

So now that we’re all on this hamster wheel, consider this: We’re running to keep still.

That’s right – I’d say we’ve been a little conned by the social revolution. Now both partners work, and earn potentially twice that of one partner, but prices have increased as well. The combined income’s only enough to keep a roof over their heads and feed themselves.

We’ve progressed in some ways, but have we really progressed? We’re now bottom of the UNICEF league tables for industrialised countries. When you’re heading home feeling absolutely shattered, how cheering is it to know that although you’ve worn yourself out at work, you’re still letting down your kids?