Why your 5-to-9 is as important as 9-to-5

It's important to build a life away from the office, and make sure your identity is not inextricably linked only to your profession

- Reem Khokhar

Vasundhara Vyas, 40, quit her corporate communications job six months ago to take a break from work. Afterwards, she attended an event and introduced herself with just her name to another attendee. “He waited for me to complete the sentence, but I had nothing to add,” says the Ahmedabad resident. The conversation disturbed her, she explains. “But it made me realise that I must accept that I am beyond my work designations.”

Vyas’ discomfort at people feeling her response was “incomplete” is understandable. Observing friends over the years, particularly those above the age of 40, their identities appear fused with their jobs. Conversations centre around work, most do not have time for interests or skills beyond the office, and retirement appears daunting, because they wonder how to fill their days. It is good to take pride in work, but if one’s self-worth and identity are inextricably linked to professional success, what happens if your job is impacted by redundancy, retirement or other reasons? This can result in depression, and affect families, and more.

Enmeshment is a psychological term which describes the blurring of boundaries between people, and prevents the development of a stable sense of self. Similarly, enmeshment with one’s career can engulf individual identity.