Working is exhausting

We feel like we belong to something that, in reality, doesn’t truly belong to us

ITALY – It’s paradoxical, but this happens to many of us. Perhaps this is what makes work more bearable: the illusion that what we produce is ours, the invisible bond that ties us to the company that pays us. Because of this, we dedicate ourselves with almost complete passion, as if we were the owners of what we build.

We give up rest and time with our families to fully commit ourselves to work. And within this dedication, there is a shadow: it turns into an addiction, a form of workaholism, similar to alcoholism. When we stop, we miss it. When retirement comes, the long-awaited rest often turns into melancholy, loneliness, and an unfillable void.

Yet belonging is necessary: without it, no enterprise could grow. It is the raw material of collective work, intertwined with our sense of duty, but rooted even deeper in our social nature. A beam needs two pillars, a stage needs four: it is through even numbers, through cooperation, that a building is constructed. The true strength lies not in the individual, but in the group.

Work is tiring, yes. But isolation is even more exhausting. Losing the sense of belonging means betraying our very humanity, condemning ourselves to despair. Because our diversity makes us unique, and it is precisely this uniqueness that makes us feel indispensable. From that comes energy, confidence, and the feeling of being alive: knowing that, in some way, we are needed.