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HOLLYWOOD SUPERSTARDOM is a busy business to be in, and its impact on Idris Elba proves it. An industry veteran, Elba has admitted life as a professional actor made him develop “unhealthy habits” and turned him into “an absolute workaholic”. These habits ultimately led him to seeking therapy.
âIâve been in therapy for about a year now,” Elba said. âIn my therapy Iâve been thinking a lot about changing⊠like neuropaths being shifted. Itâs not because I donât like myself or anything like that. Itâs just because I have some unhealthy habits that have formed.”
Elba noted that his unhealthy habits formed as a result of his line of work, in an industry which celebrates a commitment to the craft. “I work in an industry where Iâm rewarded for those unhealthy habits. Iâm an absolute workaholic. And that isnât great for life, generally.â Elba said. âNothing thatâs too extreme is good, everything needs balance. But Iâm rewarded massively to be a workaholic.â
In case you didn’t know, aside from being an accomplished actor, Elba dabbles in the art of music and is a more than capable DJ. The actor regularly performs at concerts, festivals and live events, so much so that he considers his side gig as a DJ to be a second job. He even has a dedicated music studio in his home, which is something that helps him take a break from work to unwind. âMy studio in my house, I just love being in here,â Elba said. âIâll open that laptop and be like, âI donât know what to make today,â and itâll come out like this or that. And Iâm exhilarated by that and also so relaxed by it.â
As Elba recognises, it’s important to make a distinction between work and play, âIâve got to normalise what makes me relaxed, it canât be all work,â he said. To achieve an equitable work/life balance, it’s necessary to make time for personal interests. No matter how rewarding your career may feel, overworking can have harmful effects on your wellbeing. After all, if someone like Elba, who makes millions starring in movies, is saying it’s important to take a step back sometimes, we’re going to take his word for it.
Should you work hard or play hard?
They say money canât buy happiness. And as Elba’s comments, and new research suggests, focusing on work achievements wonât do the trick either. You see, it’s important to find balance. And one study shows that hedonism and self-direction are the secrets to unlocking enjoyment.
This is a massive blow for anyone who mines top-40 songs for life advice and was particularly inspired by David Guettaâs 2013 hit, âPlay Hardâ, which despite its title, actually reveals itself to largely be an anthem of corporate enslavement (see below). It’s also a kick in the guts for those who treat The Wolf of Wall Street like religious scripture (we recommend avoiding these people at all costs). As it turns out, the life segment of work/life balance is really the only part that will make you happy, no matter how fulfilling an achievement in the work segment feels.
The study, which was conducted by the Universities of Essex and Bath, found that people who prioritised achievement instead of enjoyment were less happy the next day. Participants from the UK, Turkey and India, were asked to pursue specific areas of fulfillment on different days, and record how they felt afterwards. These areas included hedonism and self-direction, which sound like the typical progression of a night out, and the less jovial categories of achievement and conformity.
Participants who aimed to relax, follow their hobbies, and find freedom (which all fall under hedonism and self-direction) found improvements to their wellbeing, reduced stress, better sleep quality and overall life satisfaction. On the more pessimistic side of the equation, prioritising work accomplishments and conformity made no improvements to happiness whatsoever. The results led lead researcher, Dr Paul Hanel, to conclude that, “There is no benefit to wellbeing in prioritising achievement over fun and autonomy.â
Researcher Greg Maio provided an explanation for these results, noting that there are difficulties in finding happiness in an environment where work and studying are not only necessary, but are also seen as restrictions on freedom. “Against this backdrop, where achievement-oriented values have ring-fenced a great portion of our time, we found that it helps to value freedom and other values just enough to bring in balance and recovery,â Maio said.
Are there lessons to be learnt from this study?
We know what youâre thinking. No shit, a day spent relaxing at home is obviously better for your mental health than a day spent stressing in the office. Thatâs why weekends exist. While it may seem obvious that when you’re feeling like youâre running on empty, the best thing to do is take time off, the truth is, often that feeling is shoved aside in favour of a âpush through itâ mentality, until youâve reached the end of your tether. What this study shows us is that the short-term gratification of accomplishing work goals will not have a lasting impact on your happiness. And that self-direction should be the priority.
Studies on the importance of an effective work/life balance arenât exactly groundbreaking, but from this one, we can learn that by following individual goals and relaxing we wonât only be happier, we could also see improvements in our work lives. “By doing this, people could in fact be more successful as they will be more relaxed, happier and satisfied,” Maio said.
This study also proves that there are a number of guiding principles that should dictate your pursuit of happiness. With that in mind, letâs redirect back towards the many inaccuracies of David Guettaâs âPlay Hardâ, and assess its lyrics for their effectiveness in contributing to a solid work/life balance.
âPlay Hardâ begins with a pulsating techno beat that doesnât cease until the trackâs conclusion. In its first verse, thereâs already a problem. âA hustler’s work is never through”, the opening line asserts. Well, if thatâs true, weâd suggest the hustler either changes career paths, or at least finds time for their personal passions. Otherwise their relentless pursuit of work will leave them deeply unhappy.
âWe makin’ it ’cause we makin’ moves”, quickly follows in a similarly problematic bar. âMakinâ itâ is a relative statement. Everyone will have a different idea of what constitutes âmakinâ itâ, but if it means finding happiness, it certainly wonât be achieved by âmakinâ movesâ in the work sphere, but by prioritising personal interests, as the study shows. David Guetta appears to have become a mouthpiece for bosses.
âPlay Hardâ reinforces pro-work notions throughout the first verse, before devolving into a chorus featuring Ne-Yo periodically repeating âWork hard, play hardâ, before delivering the song’s only phrase with some truth to it: âKeep partyin’ like it’s your jobâ. Finally, Guetta gets it: if you want to find happiness, keep partying like itâs your job.
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