Have you ever worked a
30-hour day? Probably not. Back in my Z100 days, I remember working a 24-hour
day, where I had to work for the morning show, and then write the script for a
Top 100 year-end countdown, and then head off to Madison Square Garden in New
York City for a night of Jingle Ball. I did this all without the use of coffee
or Red Bull and just for the love of radio, which would eventually show me the
door in 2009. So much for my love of radio!
Anyway, a young Indonesian
copywriter, who regularly tweeted about her heavy workload, recently died after
spending 30 hours straight in the office. 24-year-old, Mita Diran collapsed to
the ground and slipped into a coma on Sunday after weeks of little sleep and
downing energy drinks just to keep going. Was this girl nuts? If there was one
thing that I did learn while working morning radio hours from host Elliot Segal
was that our bodies need rest and with the hours we kept, naps were imperative.
I remember him saying that his doctor told him that hour bodies need 6 to 8
hours of sleep a night to function correctly. Energy drinks might boost your
energy, but they don't replace sleep and a good night's rest. Miss Diran seemed
to try to substitute Red Bull for sleep and it seems her body just shut down.
She died hours after she collapsed.
Diran, who worked for the
Ogilvy and Mather owned Young and Rubicam ad agency in Jakarta, repeatedly
posted updates about her hectic job online. Saturday night, she tweeted,
"30 hours of work and still going strooong." She also previously
posted on Tumblr, "Tonight, I carry the keys to the office for the eighth
day running. I'm still here. I have no life. Someone please take me out for
drinks, kicks and giggles."
I think that it was really
sad that this young girl, who was probably trying to make a name for herself in
the business, could not find a work-life balance. I try to explain to my fiancée,
Laila that she needs to find that, as well, because she too is a workaholic.
Work is normally a 9 to 5 job. Once you put in your 8 hours, leave and enjoy
your life! And to those who use Red Bull as a substitute for sleep, that is
what probably killed this poor girl. Diran's father and the company she worked
for took to social media pages to show their devastation, but the bottom line
is that Diran probably died because she was trying to overachieve. Her father
was not to blame and for now, it seems her company did not force her to work
those hours. She chose to do it on her own. Take it from someone who knows firsthand,
sleep and rest is more important than pushing yourself like this and dying.
What do you think?
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