Can Chasing the All Mighty Dollar Ruin Family Life?

Americans are constantly striving for success, or at least that next paycheck; day in and day out we are waking up early and going to bed late. Driven by our society to make money and have the best life offers, we have taken this quest for the easy life and turned it into a life of worry and stress.

Work does not have to rule our days; we can work and have time out for family and fun as well. It is possible to have it all, as long as we Americans take back out day and try to make our place of employment somewhere enjoyable to be.

Our lives are controlled by work and work is controlled by the boss. Every hour of our day is planned around that dreaded place we call work; we have become slaves to the time card and family has become second place on our to-do list. Everyday we wake up and think about our day's plans. For most of us Americans, those plans include six to eight hours of paid employment, or work.

Six to eight hours does not sound like long, but it is on third of our day, five or six days a week. For some the work week is even longer. We are told what time to arrive at work and what time to leave; if we are hungry, too bad, its not lunch time yet. We not only allow some stranger to take over our lives, we welcome them in, thanking God we found a job.

What is it that makes us so willing to give up our time and energy for a faceless industry?

Well, the answer is easy and at the same time not so easy. We work in order to provide the best for our families. But while sacrificing ourselves to the greater good we are tearing ourselves down day by day, to the point of constant exhaustion and continuous recovery from work. In the end, we suffer and our families suffer.

I know that one of my biggest complaints at home is not enough time with my husband who works up to sixty hour weeks to provide our family. I am lucky in the fact that I do not have to work at this time and can at least spend my days with our young daughter. But two income families is increasingly more common to survive. Kids come home from school to an empty home and no one to help them with their daily problems.

When no one is home to take care of a child's worries, that child may find temporary outside solutions. Too often that solution is drugs and alcohol. Divorce rates are higher than ever, not all because of work, but neglect of a marriage and physical separation from a spouse can lead to anger and resentment. Family is quickly moving to the bottom of the list, despite our daily sacrifice to provide for them.

By leaving work at work and taking back control of our lives we can become better, more successful people and have happier families. When work becomes rewarded by more than money, we will feel fulfilled and worthy of a real life.

Working in a dead end job can really take a toll on people. We know that what we do is almost pointless and we do it only to bring home that lousy paycheck. I have worked in a place that literally drained me of happiness. It was not just the line of work I was in , retail, it was the circumstances I worked in. My co-workers were spiteful and bitter, so everyone was treated accordingly. Everyday I counted the hours until I had to work and felt helpless once I arrived there, I then counted the endless hours until I could go home again. I wasn't exactly a joy to be around at home, because, work was constantly on my mind.

My job became my life, and my co-workers became my problem, my burden to bear. I always thought it was the job, not realizing the toll my co-workers were taking on me. But it was not all their fault, I allowed them into my life outside of work, I allowed their negativity to affect me by dwelling on my work problems at home instead of enjoying my family. I learned a valuable lesson, I became tired of myself, and became painfully aware that I was becoming like them, the bitter co-workers! So, I made a decision to try my absolute best to leave work where it belongs, at work.

I began to invest my free time in more deserving outlets than fretting about work. I began attending college courses, and became a volunteer at a local primary school. I began to feel like my future was not set in stone, I would not be in retail forever. I could not only change my life's outcome but my mind set in the mean time.

Yes, work is a necessary evil for most of us, but what I have learned, and what I keep in thought is that the state of my well being under these circumstances, whether mental, emotional or physical, is up to me. And I can come home from a hard day and leave it outside the home. I can take care of my child, and know that she will benefit from my decision to let stress go. Although I am a stay at home mom right now, I apply this lesson still to my daily life. Our home is happier, our lives are satisfying and home is now a place to take a deep breath, relax and enjoy each others company.