Employee questions why the corporate world fosters a false sense of urgency: 'Why is that urgent?'

Corporate life is not for the weak. There are always deadlines to meet and clients to satisfy. Moreover, many employers aim to get the most out of their employees, which creates a sense of urgency. This is something Reddit user u/brx9446 questioned in a viral post. They questioned whether the sense of urgency created by the corporate world is genuine. They pointed out that ultimately not fulfilling deadlines, would not cause the world to fall apart or lives to be lost in most cases. Then why is it so important to complete these assignments on time? In the Reddit user's opinion, these assignments should not warrant such intense pressure on employees.

The post questions the anxiety corporate culture inculcates in its employees in the name of productivity. Forbes revealed that 2 out of 3 employees suffer from mental health issues. It happens because there is so much competition and urgency to complete assignments on time. Besides, there is a constant threat that looms on individuals to accomplish their work within a specific time, even if they are bombarded by multiple tasks. There is no respect for personal boundaries and oftentimes, the expectation is that employees will take their work home with them to fulfill their duties. The Reddit user questions this phenomenon as to why there is so much undue tension since the work function is not exactly a life-and-death situation.

"I’ve had many corporate jobs where my manager insists on getting something done immediately because it is urgent or high priority. I at first felt awful if I didn’t get something within a specific deadline. But then I started really thinking about it and realized the absurdity of it all. Almost no one in a corporate setting is saving lives. We aren’t surgeons, firefighters, or other first responders. I’m at a desk looking at spreadsheets and writing papers. Why is that urgent?" they ask in their post. 

While they acknowledge that there are clients to satisfy and that the work to be done is important, they point out that it is not so crucial that it requires delivering finished products at ungodly hours. "The corporate world has made me feel constantly stressed like every single thing is an emergency and if I don’t get it in on time then I’m ruining a life," they revealed. "It took me a long time to realize this but I’m still working on shifting my mentality to reflect this change."

The comment section agreed with the author's assertion. u/leggopullin shared great advice, "I love doing this. Manager constantly comes to me with 'level 0 highest priority' bullsh*t. I ask him which of my other tasks to drop so I can focus on this and all of a sudden it can wait a week..." u/teapotcake added, "I said this once, it didn’t go down well. But you’re absolutely right. I think some people like the 'hustle' because otherwise, they have no meaning in life. It is probably the only thing that makes them feel powerful and important."