why is everybody "overbooked"?

When you ask around, nobody « has time » or « has his work under control ». We can not say we do not work a lot. This would not fit our society and values. The courageous man or woman would be directly suspected of being lazy, or worse, a parasite. There are even some people, having unconsciously integrated that everybody says he is overbooked, sate for their personal case: ‘ I know many people say they are overbooked, so it sounds a bit familiar, but me, I really am overstretched ». So is it true, are we really all overbooked? Probably not. Let us check our professional environment, first. The obvious reason for saying we are overbooked is to avoid getting more things to do, by your superiors or less efficient colleagues. So you start from the consensual basis that you can not take anything more. Self-defence. From a social point of view, working a lot is still very much recognised as a positive, if not fundamental, value. “His is rarely on vacation; he works a lot”. That is a man, or a woman, making a sacrifice! You should be thankful. It is good. Social capital. Finally, on a psychological level, it is rewarding to represent ourselves as hard worker. If, moreover, we happen to earn a lot of money, this is also a good legitimisation basis. Self-satisfaction.
So, very probably, we do not have so much work to do; it is a self-fulfilling prophecy. We need to state it for the three main reasons I outlined. Of course, one would be much wiser to say that yes, he has work to do, but as he is well organised, smart, and as he has the sense of a good work-life balance, it is under control. This should also be socially recognised and personally rewarding. Dare you?