This May Be The Future Of Work If We Want To Avoid Burnout

Everybody remembers their first day at work. Often about two decades of work stories from dad and mom, siblings, your grandparents, and dinner party guests barely prepare you for the feeling of clocking in, feeling the weight of true responsibility on your shoulders, and not being able to clock out until it is time.

My transition was fairly easy. Besides professional babysitting, which I had done casually with my relatives since I was a child myself, my first job was as a religious school assistant at my family’s synagogue. Going to services already felt solemn, so I didn’t have to change my face or mentality that much. It was the same place that I had been bat-mitzvahed, which was potentially like my first professional experience, in a way. I had been a serious religious school student myself and had already had a contagious effect on my classmates. I didn’t have to do much, it was for a few hours once a week, and the rest of the time I was in high school.

In contrast, my friend’s first job was working at a bank right out of college. He had felt grateful for that opportunity during the recession, but at the same time, at a party around the holidays that year, he told us that it was like school, but he didn’t have the summer off for the first time, and in the fall, he was still at work. He figured he would never have an extended vacation again.

People talk about work burnout and I empathize. I now work as a writer year round, but I am able to make my own schedule. I don’t take the weekends off like I did as a professional gardener, because while my muscles needed to relax, my creativity does not. I had the winters off as well. I’ve also worked evenings as a waitress, half days as a substitute teacher, and at on campus jobs. I’ve had my own successful freelance business. I’ve worked at three office jobs and at two plant nurseries, all of which were temporary, or “temp” positions, meaning there was basically a contract to work for months, but not forever. Besides writing, I’ve never really worked year round, never at a year round 9-5, and often in temp positions. I’ve been working since 16, and I’ve had over a dozen jobs. I do not feel burned out, however.

As somebody who is 35 years old and has worked for almost 20 years and who is now the age at which you can run for president and is not burned out from work, I think a great solution to sociological work burnout could one-day be temp positions. That first day of work can be so difficult for so many who feel like they are thrown into a cold pool. How long does it take before the water feels warm? For some, practically never, so it feels good to get out and warm up at the end of it. Maybe every nine months, like a teacher or seasonal gardener. Maybe every few months, like an office temp worker. What about after one day?

I think a workforce that allows one-day temp positions could be very beneficial to the economy and to the country’s mental health and well-being. It would bring new life into the workforce. Workers who have been there for decades would feel less burned out from having a new coworker for a day at a time. It would take the scare out for new workers for their first day of work as being the rest of your life, like getting married after sending a cover letter, a resume, and being interviewed. Let’s at least have one date.

In addition to reducing burnout, one-day temp positions could also help moms. Lots of moms have had to leave the workforce to take care of their families, so often coping with the decision that childcare is too expensive. Many would like to return to the workforce in the future, and a periodic one-day temp position could help to bridge the gap over the years. While childcare is indeed expensive, for a one-day temp position, a babysitter could be hired.

It’s difficult to know which job is the best fit for you without ever having worked one day yet. A one day temp position could expose people to many kinds of jobs before then applying to a full time position that they feel is a great fit for them.

If everybody worked for one day, would we be more confident email writers? Would we all start folding our laundry and putting it away? And would more people be nicer to baristas? One can only “one”-der.