19 Signs Your Job Is Stealing Your Identity

19 Signs Your Job Is Stealing Your Identity Among the many teachings the writer Toni Morrison gave us, in the wake of her recent passing in August, wisdom she shared on work-life balance began making its rounds on social media.Whatever the work is, do it well notlage for your boss, but for yourself, the much-circulated post reads. You make the job it doesnt make you. Your real life is with us, your family. You are not the work you do you are the person you are.If your involvement with your work has led you to question the validity of any of the above statements, its possible your job has begun to steal your identity. And, in a hyper-capitalist society that tends to value production over all else, you wouldnt be alone in experiencing this loss. Below, here are the 19 signs your job is consuming way too much of your identity.1. Your family or friends are making comments about seeing you less.Even worse Theyve stopped inviting you to certain events and activities, because they know yo ull say you have to work.2. Your job features prominently in your dreams.And/or the quality of your sleep is decreasing, too.3. You feel too busy at work to justify taking a break.Eat lunch away from your desk? People do that?4. Your productivity is suffering, despite the number of hours you put in.You know that youre working a ton, but when you compare it against what you feel youve actually accomplished, theres a disconnect.5. The Sunday Scaries have become especially severe.What for some people is a joking expression feels oh-so real to you.6. You cant stop thinking about work, even during supposed downtime.There are few to no activities you can do just for fun without thoughts of that one thing you mucksmuschenstill need to do for work creeping up.7. You cancel social plans, often.And people expect it of you, too.8. The last thing you do before bed has to do with work.Hopping back online for a couple hours or any amount of time at all has become far too-regular a parte of your nighttime routine.9. You check your work email or Slack notifications obsessively.And you have push notifications enabled, too.10. You cant remember the last time you were totally, 100% off on a weekend.But actually no clue when the last time was that this happened.11. You struggle to think of any personal goals youre working toward in life.The goals youre supposed to be hitting for work, on the other hand, you can recite in a heartbeat.12. Youre consistently one of the first and/or last people in the office.You know the rough time that most of your coworkers get to and leave the office, because youre always there to witness it.13. Youre edgier and mora irritable, and youre not sure why.You realize that youve begun to become a generally snappier person, which feels untrue to who you are.14. Youve given up a hobby you love because there isnt enough time for it.Youll pick back up Hobbies A and B again soon, though, when theres time.15. Your physical health is suffering.Headaches and tense or sore muscles have become a daily reality.16. If you were given a completely free day tomorrow, you have no idea how youd use it.Your use of time has become so oriented around work that conceiving of a day without it is difficult.17. Youre constantly at least a little afraid of being fired.And that anxiety drives your need to produce even more for your company.18. The idea of attending a 6 p.m. event (that doesnt have to do with work) on a weeknight feels unfathomable.L.O.L. Yeah, sure youll make it to that sporting event that starts while the sun is still up.19. You talk about work non-stop, and you notice youve started slipping work-isms into everyday conversations.Circling back and ROI have begun to worm their way into your conversations with friends who also know every last detail about your boss, that project youre working on, and the latest annoying thing Coworker X did.--