3.9.21 // work/life balance

Work / Life Balance.
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I've talked about this many times over the years.
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My blog introduction starts with a letter about my burnout at a silicon valley company and how I lost myself because I couldn't find a work/life balance.
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I took steps back after that burnout and recalibrated myself. Thinking that the burnout was because of me. I couldn't control my need for perfection. To meet unrealistic goals, to be everything to everyone, to wear all of the "hats", and to show I could help a company grow. I blamed myself for lack of control and for not setting boundaries.
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That is still the case.
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I still struggle to lay down my perfectionism (one of the biggest issues I face in therapy) in the midst of pressures from work.
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But, I realized something else...
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As I've talked to friends, family, and old colleagues, they are facing similar issues. The need to be more, do more, work more. The pressure to be in the office during a pandemic. The fear that if they weren't doubling down on their work while they were at home, they'd be considered not doing enough "for the company."
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Then it hit me, sure, part of it is me...
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But part of it is the toxic work culture that seems to permeate through America and more specifically through "silicon valley" companies.
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The companies promise unlimited vacation days and remote work, but only when convenient for them. The companies pride themselves on being "flexible," when in reality, they often do not put their employees first. It's baffling to me.
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And an employee putting out boundaries, laying out priorities, is hardly regarded or applauded but is reprimanded, company emails threatened to be sent so that no other employee dare follow suit.
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How are you supposed to have a life, if your work demands you indebt yours to a company?
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How can we change this? How can we think critically about the precious moments we have on this planet and prioritize people and not a company's bottom lines?