Are You a 9 – 5 Zombie?

Do you feel like you are one of the walking dead? No, not an undead, yet sentient being slowly trudging through the day. If you have a regular job that you view as boring, you may be more zombie than human.

Here are six ways to tell if you are turning into one of the corporate undead:

1. You Have an Insatiable and Endless Desire for Coffee

If you start your day groaning and wheezing your way to the coffeemaker because you can’t fully function without it. And if you crave it because you don’t see yourself as able to survive without your trip to the coffee shop or other source, you may be a zombie because you need the caffeine like a zombie needs brains.

2. You Shuffle Your Feet When You Walk

Is there a bounce in your step? Do you move briskly from destination to destination? Or do you trudge as if you were destined to meet your doom? And your posture? Do you stand proud as if you own the place, or are you slumping at your desk right now. If you are a slumper, you are moving towards zombie.

3. You Grunt, Groan and Mumble

Corporate zombies don’t use words to communicate, instead you groan, mumble and grunt. Zombies replace words with sounds.

4. You’ve Caught the Virus That’s Making the Rounds

You find yourself coughing, sneezing and otherwise reacting to the misery that is the virus that your colleagues have been spreading around. This illness makes you more likely to lose focus and the ability to move and you will appear more zombie like than ever

5. Your Job is So Easy You Don’t Need a Brain to Do It

You see your job as less than challenging, but it is easy. You don’t have to focus or put much effort into each task. If you feel like someone without a brain could do your job, you are most certainly a work zombie

6. You Sacrifice Sleep, Sex and Good Food for Work

The walking dead don’t need sleep or sex or food.  The certainly don’t need or eat interesting and healthy food.   If you are living a life centered round work and you are so stressed out you can’t sleep, let alone participate in other bedtime activities, you are most definitely headed towards permanent residency in Zombie Town.

Everyone needs a job to support themselves. To avoid become a zombie you have to change your perspective from working to live rather than living to work. If you can, find a job that’s interesting and a little more rewarding. If you can’t switch jobs, try to create a healthier balance by going to work, leaving at reasonable time. Don’t respond to pressure to work overtime at a sacrifice to your health and happiness. Take breaks during the day.  Go outside and breathe fresh out.  At the very least commit to eating lunch away from your desk.