Overwhelmed: Work, Love, and Play When No One Has the Time

We Americans seem to have a love affair with busyness.

Perhaps nowhere is this more evident than in the culture of the modern workplace. For too many, 9-to-5 is all but extinct. Instead, it’s been overtaken for by a system that measures employee worth by who comes early and stays late, by who racks the most billable hours, by who gets the most face time with clients and colleagues, and by who extends themselves closest to the breaking point.
 
But how much has this devotion to our jobs come at the expense of our health and relationships? And, important for employers and employees alike, is all the pressure starting to erode the quality of our work?
 
New America hosted a conversation with Brigid Schulte, author of the new book Overwhelmed: Work, Love, and Play When No One Has the Time, as she discussed how the cult of busyness has been changing the way we live and work, and how innovative policies from two unlikely places — the Pentagon and a law firm — are building more balanced and more productive workplaces.
 

Join the conversation online using #workloveplay and following @NewAmerica.