Google’s Larry Page recently suggested abandoning the 40-hour week altogether, kicking off another round of the work-life balance debate. But even if you do put in your eight hours a day without checking your smartphone over dinner and taking calls in the evening, work can still prey on your mind and eat into personal time.
So, can you leave workplace worries at the office door – and is it desirable to do so?
Fergus O’Connell, author of The Power of Doing Less says that if you are good at compartmentalising, it is possible to keep office anxiety out of home life. He suggests using your commute to decompress, think through your problems and get a sense of proportion. “You unwind, you realise you’ve built these things up to be bigger than they are – and pretty soon you realise that all your worries are first world worries.”