Sisisifemia is to feel that work is never over, that things are not sufficiently done and that they are not doing everything that needs to be done, and therefore cannot be disconnected from work. Psychologist Ziortza Karranza has talked about self-exploitation, self-demands, capitalism, borders and why: “I feel like I’m doing jobs all the time, but I never end. This can lead to stress, fatigue and anxiety.”

How does sisisifemia influence daily life?

Very negatively. It does not disconnect, it can be tired, it can take energy away for other activities and instead of being with the family it can be connected to the phone.

Can technology affect sisisifemia?

New technologies have had a major impact on sisisifemia. When you leave work and carry your phone on top, you can receive a working message at any time with a new task. This causes disconnect difficulties, as it is easier for work to enter private life.

What other factors influence?

Today, older people are increasingly looking for hyperproductivity and we have very internalized that thirty people like us are to access our job. What they get is people are becoming more and more self-exploited. Emotional rejection and the view of people from profitability influence the sisiphemy.

Is it a consequence of the capitalist system?

Totally. We live in hypercapitalism. They seek profitability and are not limited solely to the exercise of the functions of earning wages. They reduce you by saying there are many others who want your job. So if you don't do it right, you'll get the feeling of losing your job. This psychological abuse increases the self-demands a lot. We have been educated in self-demand and we want to do things better and better. That is why we have trouble setting limits and saying that we are not going to do something.

Can self-demand not do a job because it will never be perfect?

In therapy, I've seen people delay projects and get a bunch of hours of work to get the perfect result, but that's really hard. This also influences self-exploitation. Perhaps we have to take the idea of perfecting and assuming that I will do my best, but it will not be perfect. I have to look for a way that respects my health.

How does teleworking influence the sisifemia?

I believe that it is difficult for workers to distinguish and not allow work to enter your life. It's much harder to distinguish working life because everything happens in the same place. People are also more isolated and it is harder to share the conditions and experiences they live. In addition, the social part is lost. Perhaps they do not do something and do not have spaces to share with each other, they do not see that the things their superiors ask for are not possible.

What tools are there to prevent sisiphemy?

Unfortunately, I think that many times the person realizes when they have to leave. We often put tools in place when we see each other at the border. Ideally, feminism, environmentalism, etc., and mental health should be taken into account before this happened. But mental health is still not on the front line. When they take these casualties and walk away, they realize the degree of self-exploitation. So the ideal would be for everyone to step back and watch how work affects them, how much energy and time they spend at work. Once seen, it can analyze the ways to reduce the responsibility or requirement imposed in itself. The hard thing is to realize.