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Work can sometimes take more than just your time.

The following story involves a man who started working full-time. He then noticed that his visits with his father and friends slowly decreased.

What used to be frequent trips and meetups turned into rare visits due to limited vacation time and busy schedules.

Over time, he felt increasingly disconnected from the people who mattered most.

Read the full story below for all the details.

Work is slowly hurting our relationships with friends and family

My dad lives in another state. When I was going to high school, I would visit him 7 to 8 times a year.

During summer breaks, I would stay 2 to 3 weeks.

When I started university and my part-time job, the visits decreased to 5 to 6 times a year.

During summer break, I could still stay there for 1 to 2 weeks. I had to juggle it with my part-time job.

I worked hours before and after this period so that I could get 1 to 2 weeks off.

This man’s visits to his dad significantly decreased.

After starting my full-time job, the visits decreased further. They went down to 3 to 4 times a year.

The longest I stayed were extended weekends. They lasted 3 to 4 days.

So my time with him decreased from around 50 days per year in HS to some 30 days per year while at university.

Now, it is down to less than 15 days per year today.

Even meeting with friends got affected.

I had 3 good friends from my HS time and 2 from university.

I would see them easily 50 to 100 times a year.

Out of the 5, I completely lost contact with 1. With the other two, I only text occasionally.

I also write with them occasionally. The last 2, I meet twice a year.

He hates how work affects his relationships with family and friends.

The last time I saw one of them was in February, all because of work.

All because I have just 3 weeks of vacation time in a year.

They also have work. Our schedules rarely align. I just hate it.

Work has robbed me of contact with my father and friends.

It has isolated me, and it is slowly killing our relationships with friends and family.

It’s tough realizing how quietly time and distance can grow between you and the people you care about.

I agree, work schedules can make it feel almost impossible to stay connected with people you used to be close with.

It might take extra effort now, but even small moments together can still mean a lot. Don’t you think so?

Let’s find out what others have to say about this.

Here’s an honest opinion.

This user makes another valid point.

Another one shares their personal thoughts.

If you enjoyed this story, check out this post about a longtime bank customer who walked away after the teller gave them a hard time.

Work is utterly pointless, says this one.

Finally, short and straightforward.

Work pays the bills, but sometimes it costs the memories.