ThirstyFish

A "Rat Race" is expending a lot of effort but not achieving anything substantial. It is a state of mind where we can not balance ambition and work with personal development, family, health, and pleasure. Especially in NYC, many of us are not even aware of the imbalance in our lives. And those of us that are aware are in an endless pursuit of escaping the Rat Race.

The United States lags behind many countries when it comes to workplace policies such as maternity leave, paid sick days and maximum length of work week. While European Union countries must provide 20 paid vacation days a year plus public holidays, in the US, there is no Federal Law mandating companies to pay employees for days off. Lack of mandates contributes to the Rat Race and has consequences.

Naturally, we can not only hold laws, regulations and employers responsible for the imbalance in our lives. Many of us do not know to stop for a moment and ask ourselves "what truly matters"? We need to learn how to manage our workplace stress. We have to balance our personal lives with our work lives. We have to make the most of our time off.

Participation in the Rat Race is optional for some of us.