Creating a culture of over protection

Again i approach another Blog entry with the guilt that it has been some time since i last wrote about something. I think i used the 'I've been busy card' to early in this whole Blog thing because busy back then doesn't compare to busy now. I'm now cooking on Gas whereas in the past i was cooking with a solar powered torch. I really like writing on this Blog but it's very difficult at the end of a long day to write something. I guess one of the benefits of a Blog is the self discipline. Anyway on with the blogging......

We had a team meeting at the beginning of the week and we were discussing our approach to work. As a volunteer its hard to be as disciplined about work as you might be in paid position. Perhaps this isn't the normal experience of voluntary work but i think for me the pay acts as a reward and within voluntary work you have to find other rewards for your work. I tend to feel pretty guilty if i don't work hard and this has been the driving force behind my work. However, at times i have still felt the temptation to take a morning off with the pushing factor being that I'm not getting paid for my time.

Our manager expressed that his biggest worry for us as Gap year workers was that we would develop a false reality of work and therefore has pushed us to consider our voluntary years the same as a paid years work. Our managers other concern was that we were creating too protective environment for ourselves. Throughout the year we've spent time with our mentors who encourage us not to work to hard and to watch our stress levels. Whereas perhaps a Gap year should be a time when you should work harder than you sometimes feel capable of. To do this allows you to test your limits and to also really test your capabilities as a future employee.

In a world where depression and stress affect so many people, the generation above us are desperate to protect us. Having trained as a social worker I'm well aware of the dangers such as 'burn out' and 'depression'. However, i wonder whether the current problems are creating a generation of workers who are over protective of themselves and never really push themselves without a bout of tiredness affecting their determination to work hard. Is it possible to get burnt out in a gap year....in the past i would have always said yes and now I'm not sure but i think i have to be very careful about the balance of work and fun in my life.