When was the last time you saw your friends? Not a quick "let's catch up" over lunch that you rushed through because you had a 2 PM meeting. A real hangout where you weren't checking your phone every five minutes or mentally running through your to-do list.

Your friends have stopped inviting you to things because you always say you're busy. Your family is used to you being "at work" even when you're physically present. Your relationships have become voice notes you send between meetings and "sorry, can we reschedule?" texts.

And the worst part? You don't even notice it's happening until you realize you feel completely alone despite being surrounded by people every day.

You've been waiting for the right time to rest. When this project is done, when things slow down, when you've proven yourself enough. But here's the thing: that time will never come. There will always be another deadline, another goal, another reason to push yourself just a little bit harder.

So let me say what nobody at work will ever tell you: You're allowed to rest. Right now. Not when you've earned it. Not when everything is perfect.

You're allowed to leave work at 5 PM without guilt. You're allowed to turn off your notifications on weekends. You're allowed to have hobbies that don't "add value" to your career. You're allowed to be a whole person, not just an employee.

And if you've forgotten what that feels like, let's talk about what it's costing you.

What Overworking Is Quietly Stealing From You

Your Health (And I'm Not Just Talking About Being Tired)

66% of employees are burned out in 2025 (Businessday NG). 42% of women in Corporate America have felt burned out in the last few months, compared to 35% of men. And that gap has more than doubled since 2019 (Xplicitmode).

Your body has been trying to tell you something for a while now. The headaches that won't go away. The back pain from sitting at your desk for 10 hours straight. The sleep that never feels restful because your brain won't shut off. The constant low-level anxiety that's just... there.

You've normalized it. "Everyone's stressed," you tell yourself. But stress isn't supposed to be your baseline. Your body breaking down at 25, 28, 32, that's not normal. That's burnout wearing you down from the inside.

And it's not just physical. Your mental health is taking hits you're pretending not to notice. The Sunday night dread starts on Saturday afternoon. The panic when your boss sends a message after hours. The feeling that you're constantly one mistake away from everything falling apart.

Remember when you used to paint? Or read for fun? Or dance just because you felt like it? Remember having hobbies that had nothing to do with your career, or "networking" or "building your personal brand"?

You've become your job title. Your entire identity is wrapped up in what you do for work. And when someone asks, "Tell me about yourself," you don't even know what to say anymore.

This is the cost nobody talks about. You're functioning, paying your bills, showing up, but are you actually living?

Or are you just a very efficient machine that goes to work, comes home exhausted, scrolls through your phone for hours because you're too drained to do anything else, and then does it all over again the next day?

Somewhere along the way, you stopped being a person and became a productivity metric. And if you're reading this feeling seen and a little bit uncomfortable, that's because it's true.

Why We Don't Give Ourselves Permission to Rest

So why do we do this to ourselves? Why do we keep pushing until we break? Because we can't afford to.

Let's be real about this: Nigeria's economy isn't exactly giving "take your time and rest" energy. The cost of living is high. Your salary barely stretches. Your family is depending on you. You're trying to save, pay rent, send money home, and still have something left over for yourself.

The idea of "slowing down" feels like a luxury you can't afford. Because what if you get fired? What if someone else takes your spot? What if resting means falling behind financially?

So you keep going, not because you want to but because you feel like you have to, because Hustle Culture told us rest is for the weak.

Social media doesn't help. Everyone's posting about their 5 AM routines and their side hustles and their "no days off" mentality. And if you're not doing the same, you feel like you're failing.

But here's the truth: burnout isn't a badge of honor. Exhaustion isn't success, and the people telling you to hustle harder are probably burnt out too; they're just better at hiding it.

What Resting Actually Looks Like (P.s It's Not What You Think)

Rest doesn't mean quitting your job or going on an expensive vacation you can't afford. It means creating small pockets of space where you can actually breathe.

I know this sounds impossible, but start small. Leave work at your official closing time at least twice a week. Don't check emails after 7 PM. Turn off work notifications on Sundays. Say "I'll get back to you tomorrow" instead of responding immediately at 11 PM.

Will people notice? Maybe. Will it be uncomfortable at first? Definitely. But these boundaries are necessary, and if your workplace can't function without you being available 24/7, that's a management problem, not a you problem.

You wouldn't let someone randomly take money from your account, right? So why do you let people randomly take your time? Start saying no. Not to everything, but to things that drain you without giving anything back. That meeting that could've been an email? Decline it. That event you don't actually want to attend? Skip it. That favor someone's asking when you're already stretched thin? "I can't right now" is a complete sentence. Your time is limited. Treat it that way.

Reclaim Your Hobbies (Even If It's Just 30 Minutes)

You don't need hours of free time to do the things you love; you need intention. Set aside 30 minutes this week to do something that has nothing to do with work. Read a chapter of a book, paint something terrible, dance in your living room, cook a meal that takes effort, watch that show everyone's been talking about.

It doesn't have to be perfect. It doesn't have to be productive. It just has to be something that reminds you you're more than your job title.

Rest is productive. Sleep is productive. Taking a walk is productive. Doing nothing is productive.

You've been measuring productivity by how much you can squeeze into a day. But real productivity includes taking care of yourself so you don't burn out completely.

Your worth isn't determined by how busy you are. And the sooner you believe that, the sooner you can stop running yourself into the ground.

You don't have to overhaul your entire life overnight. Start with one thing.

Take your lunch break away from your desk. Go for a 10-minute walk. Call a friend just to talk. Turn your phone off for an hour. Sleep an extra 30 minutes.

Small changes add up. And sometimes, survival looks like doing just one thing differently today.

Dear Corporate Girlie, you don't need to earn rest. You don't need to wait for the "right time." You don't need to burn yourself out to prove you're worthy of taking a break.

You're allowed to be tired. You're allowed to protect your peace. You're allowed to prioritize yourself without guilt.

I know it's hard. I know the economy is tough, and the job market is unforgiving, and you're scared of what will happen if you slow down. But I also know that you can't keep pouring from an empty cup.

You deserve more than just surviving. You deserve to actually live.

So here's your permission. Take it. Use it. Rest.

To the corporate girlie who's burnt out but won't admit it: here's what overworking is costing you, why you can't rest, and how to start taking your life back.

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