Today, a colleague suddenly told me that I need to go for a health assessment.
My first reaction was actually that it felt quite novel, because in my previous company experiences, health matters were basically just submitting a health check report when joining, the company keeping a record, and basically no one would follow up with special concern afterward. So I always thought it was more like a document the company completed based on regulatory requirements. I didn't expect that at this company, there would actually come a day when I sit down for a "post-work health assessment."
At first, when I heard the other person say my report had abnormalities, I really got a bit nervous, wondering where exactly the problem was. Later I found out it was a misunderstanding, because I am a recent new hire, so this time it was mainly to understand my work status after joining, including workload, overtime hours, and whether there is any physical discomfort or injury caused by work.
At this point, I started to feel that this assessment seemed much more interesting than I originally imagined.
After all, my current work situation is indeed not some relaxed desk job. Working overtime two or three hours on weekdays is already normal, and recently with a large volume of orders, I've even come to the company to work on Saturdays. Although everyone knows this is an extraordinary period that requires extraordinary handling, the body will still honestly tell you whether you're truly exhausted.
For example, recently my right shoulder and neck have had quite obvious soreness. Sitting in front of the computer for long periods in a fixed posture, with my hand constantly operating the mouse and keyboard, my shoulder and neck stay in the same position, and even turning or moving to certain angles causes pain.
So the medical staff also asked me to fill out a pain assessment form, checking off according to the level of pain, and reminded me that after working one or two hours, it's best to get up and walk around, move a bit, and not stay in the same posture all the time.
I might have thought before that these things are fine as long as I pay attention myself, and when busy, there's no time to get up and move around. But only after the soreness actually appeared did I realize the body isn't a machine— no matter how much work there is, it doesn't mean the body can keep pushing indefinitely.
They also specifically reminded that for overtime, one needs to assess whether it's short-term busyness or if it has become a long-term work pattern. If it's just because of a period with explosive order volume, and things can return to normal after getting through it, that's completely different from maintaining high working hours long-term.
After hearing all this, I suddenly felt that this kind of health assessment is quite meaningful.
I used to always think that the relationship between company and employees is just a work relationship—once the work is done and salary is received, everything else seems to be each person's own responsibility. But at least in this part, someone stops to ask you: "Is the workload heavy recently? Any overtime? Any physical discomfort?"
For me, who's currently busy to the point of being overwhelmed every day, the feeling of being asked this question is actually quite fresh.
Of course, what I hope most right now is still to quickly get through this peak order period, so my shoulders and neck can rest a bit, and my off-work time won't keep extending into the evening. After all, work can be done slowly, issues can be solved slowly, but there's only one body. I still hope I can get through this wave as desired and recover soon.