Do you dream about work? About a quarter of the people who responded to our recent survey on the topic say they dream about work a few times a week. Another quarter say the dreams happen a few times a month.
Seventy-six percent of respondents say the dreams make them feel anxious or stressed. Been there.
In a previous job, I became so stressed and overworked that I dreamed of my death every night until I eventually quit. Toxic workplaces have dreary ramifications, even in an unconscious state.
But I’m not here to talk about toxicity. This week’s newsletter is intentionally light—because now I know a lot of you aren’t getting enough rest. Below, you’ll find recaps of work dreams from women in our audience (why does being naked always come up?). I found many of them interesting and relatable, and I’m also so jealous of every person with inspiring or motivational dreams. Huge win on your end.
And before you get to any of that, here are a few of my favorite resources we have about sleep, dreaming, and rest on our platform:
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If you want to interpret your work dreams, click here.
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If you need playlists and apps to help you fall asleep, click here.
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If you want to ditch overwork, click here.
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If you need to relax on a budget, click here.
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If you need help releasing toxicity from a former workplace, click here.
Now onto those work dreams….
What our readers are dreaming about:
“It's usually a boring dream about me doing my job. I see the software I use all day, I'm sitting at my desk, just... working.”
“Lots and lots of spreadsheets”
“If I am dreaming about my current job, it is the common scenario of customer service and a client that wishes to complain about a product they saw on TikTok that did not work for them. However, if the dream is about future positions or what I wish I was doing—such as creating a backdrop or designing the stage for a concert or event—it seems more motivating and inspirational, to give me comfort.”
“I dream that I'm back at a job I left nine years ago. I have a dream like that probably 4-5 times a year, and it's always a stress dream around that scenario.”
“Getting fired for doing something because I wasn't given correct information.”
“I've been out of work for over six months, so it's usually about what is happening to my family financially and not being able to provide. General job-hunting stress.”
“Drowning.”
“I am running around trying to get a ton of work done and there are not enough people to help. A medical emergency is happening, and I am the only one recognizing it.”
“I haven't dreamed about work at my current job.... but, at my previous role, I had a dream that I had been paged (even though I wasn't on call). I woke up; it was 3 a.m. Out of habit, I rolled over, checked my phone, and one of our execs had just posted saying ‘the app has been down for the last hour.’ (Spoiler alert: It had only been down for 2 minutes.)”
“Promotion to a fabulous job in a creative and innovative marketing department.”
“I'm living with my coworkers.”
“I've reached my aspired goals and am living a lifestyle aligned with it.”
“Forgetting important things/responsibilities, losing things, trying to accomplish something but repeatedly getting distracted.”
“I used to have racing thoughts about different ideas of projects I wanted to do with clients. Now that things have changed in my organization dramatically, I wake up in the middle of the night stressed about unrealistic expectations from not just my boss, but now my boss’s boss.”
“Me forgetting to schedule employees. Everyone calling out and disaster ensuing. That people I work with are doing something insane with me that has nothing to do with work, but we don't hang out outside of work.”
“Dealing with a stressful project or someone who is difficult to work with; getting laid off; running out of money and needing to go crawling back to a job I previously quit and beg them to hire me back at a lower salary or lower position. Capitalism crushing me and losing my house because no one will hire me despite all my experience and education. Being rejected from retail positions because I’m ‘overqualified’ despite being jobless and willing to work for any amount.”
“I'm either naked or late.”
“Almost every work dream is an almost-nightmare stress dream where I forgot a minor detail that ended up blowing up in a big way. If I ever have a dream about work, it's my cue to press the reset button on my work-life balance.”
