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Gaya

It's Sunday, 7 p.m. You've eaten, you've showered, you've found something to watch. Your evening is going well. Then you remember tomorrow is Monday.

Suddenly, the food isn't hitting the same way. You're thinking about that email you haven't answered, the meeting you have to prepare for, and the task your boss casually dropped on you at 4:57 p.m. on Friday. Your chest feels a little tight. You start mentally rehearsing conversations that haven't happened yet, and just like that, your Sunday is finished.

You tell yourself it's normal. Everybody gets tired of work. In this economy, you're supposed to be grateful you even have a job. There are people applying for hundreds of positions who would happily take your place, so who are you to complain?

Meanwhile, you haven't properly enjoyed a weekend in months. Your friends are tired of hearing about your manager. You snap at people who have done absolutely nothing to you, and whenever somebody asks how you're doing, you say, “I'm fine, just stressed.”

Omo. Are we sure? Having a stressful week doesn't automatically mean your job is affecting your mental health, but when the stress follows you home, affects your sleep, changes your mood, or makes you dread most of your waking hours, it's worth paying attention.

Let's find out how things have been going for you, and don't worry. This is between you, Aura, and the answer sheet. HR will not be receiving your results.&nbsp;

There are 11 questions. For each one, choose the answer that sounds most like you on a typical week, not the answer you wish were true.

Your highest possible score is 33. Add up your points and check your result at the end.

1. It's Sunday evening. How are you feeling about Monday?

A. I'm enjoying my evening. Monday can meet me when it comes. B. I'm not excited, but that's life. I'll deal with it tomorrow. C. I'm already thinking about everything I have to do. I haven't even finished my weekend. D. I'm considering every possible way to avoid Monday without losing my salary.

2. Your phone buzzes at 9:14 p.m. It's your boss.

A. I'll see it tomorrow. Work has closed. B. I'll check it. If it's urgent, I'll respond. C. My stomach drops before I've even opened the message. D. I'm typing “Noted, thank you” with tears in my eyes. Why is this person disturbing my peace at this hour?

3. How has your body been behaving lately?

A. Nothing unusual. I feel generally okay. B. I'm tired more often, but rest usually helps. C. My sleep, energy, or appetite has been affected, and I'm struggling to feel rested. D. I'm dealing with persistent headaches, stomach problems, tension or other symptoms, and I keep pushing through them.

A. It's going well. There are stressful days, but nothing I can't manage. B. “Omo, we're trying.” Then I give them a brief 15-minute update. C. I have so much to say that I don't even know where to start anymore. D. I either vent until I'm tired of hearing myself or say, “I'm grateful to have a job,” because I don't know how else to explain how miserable I feel.

5. When did you last take time off and actually switch off?

A. Recently. I rested and barely thought about work. B. I took time off, but I still checked a few emails and messages. C. I spent most of my leave worrying about returning to work. D. Leave? I'm not sure I remember what that feels like. Even when I'm off, I'm somehow still working.

6. Imagine telling your manager that you're overwhelmed and need support.

A. I could say it honestly and expect a reasonable conversation. B. It would be uncomfortable, but I'd probably be okay. C. I'm worried they'll see me as incompetent or incapable of handling my job. D. Absolutely not. In this economy? I'll suffer in silence and update my CV at midnight.

7. When did work last make you cry, snap at someone or feel completely numb?

A. I can't remember a time work made me feel that way. B. It has happened occasionally, usually after a particularly stressful day. C. It's happened in the last few weeks, and I'm starting to worry about how much it's affecting me. D. I've lost count. I've become so used to feeling overwhelmed that I barely question it anymore.

8. Think about how people treat you at work. How much have you normalised?

Being shouted at, having your time disrespected, being expected to work unpaid overtime, or constantly being made to feel inadequate.

A. I have boundaries, and I know when something isn't acceptable. B. A few things annoy me, but I try to address them when I can. C. I've tolerated things I wouldn't accept anywhere else because I need the job. D. I've convinced myself that this is simply what working life is supposed to be.

9. Your manager says, “We're a family here. Everybody has to make sacrifices.”

A. Fine, as long as the expectations are reasonable and the arrangement works both ways. B. I hear them, but I'm not about to confuse my colleagues with my actual family. C. I start thinking about all the extra work I've done that nobody seems to remember. D. I feel guilty for wanting boundaries, even though the company has never hesitated to prioritise its own needs.

10. When did work last make you feel genuinely proud of yourself?

A. Recently! I can point to things I've done that make me feel good about my work. B. It's been a while, but I still have moments that remind me why I do this. C. Most of my satisfaction comes from finishing tasks and surviving the day. D. Proud? At this point, I celebrate when I close my laptop and nobody needs anything else from me.

A. I have friends, interests, plans and things I enjoy that have absolutely nothing to do with my job. B. I'm often tired, but I still make time for the people and things I love. C. I've stopped doing several things I used to enjoy because I rarely have the energy. D. My job has swallowed so much of my life that I struggle to remember what I enjoy outside it.

First, remember that this is a reflection quiz, not a clinical assessment. Your score isn't a diagnosis, and it doesn't determine whether your workplace is healthy or unhealthy. Look at the patterns behind your answers, too.

0–8 points: You're doing relatively okay

Look at you, having a job and still being a person outside it. Love that for you. You may have stressful days, annoying colleagues, and the occasional Monday morning complaint, but work doesn't appear to be taking over your life based on your answers.

Keep protecting the things that make your life feel like yours. Take your leave. Eat your lunch. Close your laptop when the workday ends. Don't wait until you're exhausted before you start practising boundaries, and if one of your answers raised a concern, don't dismiss it just because your overall score is low.

You might still be functioning perfectly well at work. You're meeting deadlines, attending meetings, and replying to emails. Nobody would look at you and assume anything is wrong, but you're noticing things. You're more irritable than usual. You need the entire weekend to recover from the week. You're checking messages when you should be resting, and your hobbies are slowly becoming things you used to do.

Try this: Identify one thing about work that's draining you and see what you can change. It could be setting a boundary around after-hours messages, taking your lunch break away from your desk or discussing an unrealistic workload with your manager. You don't have to wait until things become unbearable before making a change.

17–24 points: Work is taking up too much space in your life

At this point, your answers suggest that work may be affecting more than your productivity. It could be influencing your mood, sleep, relationships, or ability to enjoy your time away from the office, and perhaps you've become so used to it that you've stopped noticing how much you've changed.

You may even be telling yourself that things will get better after the next deadline, the next promotion, or the next salary review, but if you've been saying that for months, it's worth asking whether anything is actually changing.

Try this: Talk to someone you trust about what you've been experiencing. Look at your workload, your boundaries, and the things at work that are making you feel this way. If the stress is persistent or affecting your daily life, consider speaking with a qualified mental health professional.

You don't have to resign tomorrow. But you can start taking your wellbeing seriously today.

25–33 points: Please stop telling yourself this is just normal work stress

Your answers suggest that work may be taking a significant toll on your wellbeing. You may be dealing with persistent exhaustion, dread, difficulty switching off or feeling disconnected from the life you have outside your job, and yes, you may also be grateful for the salary.

You can appreciate having an income and still recognise that something about your working situation isn't sustainable. You can need the job and still deserve to be treated with respect.

Try this: Reach out to someone you trust and consider speaking with a qualified mental health professional, especially if these feelings have been persistent or are interfering with everyday life. If your workplace is contributing to the problem, begin exploring realistic options, whether that means requesting support, renegotiating your responsibilities, changing teams or planning a move to another role.

You don't have to make a drastic decision today. Start by acknowledging what you're experiencing and identifying what support is available to you, and if you're experiencing severe or persistent physical symptoms, don't automatically assume they're caused by stress. Speak with a healthcare professional to get them checked.

You know what makes work stress particularly difficult? Sometimes, nothing looks wrong from the outside. You're still showing up. Your salary still enters your account. Your LinkedIn profile says you're building your career. Your colleagues think you're doing fine.

But you know how you feel on Sunday evenings. You know how often you've cancelled plans because you're too exhausted to leave the house. You know whether you're working towards a life you want or simply trying to survive until payday.

You don't have to hate your job to admit that it's affecting you. You don't have to be at breaking point before you're allowed to ask for help. And you certainly don't have to prove that you're grateful by pretending everything is fine.

Your job is part of your life. It shouldn't have to consume the rest of it.

So, how did you score? And be honest: is it the job, the boss, the salary, or the fact that you need all three to survive?

Be honest: are you actually okay at work, or have you just gotten used to being stressed? Take this quiz to find out how much of your sanity your job is collecting.

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