# Is being a workaholic inherently bad?



## Fleetfoot (May 9, 2011)

Recently I've started to wonder about workaholics.









No, not these guys. roud:

From browsing I've noticed a lot of sites coin the term "workaholic" to be a prominent issue in society. In some places like Japan, corporations have taken steps to prevent 'Karoshi' - or literally death from overwork in order to provide employees with a better work-life balance. The same could be applied to a student's studies as well and both work and study can be measured by hours per week invested.

And personally, I was working 70 hours a week usually. I also know several people who take on multiple jobs and work just as much. 

From your experience, would you say that people becoming workaholics is an epidemic where only a minority has enough time to manage a successful work-life balance? Or do you believe balance doesn't exist, and that the harder you work the more it will pay off?

Do you think you're a workaholic?


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## conscius (Apr 20, 2010)

If you love it, it's not work, right? It's just a 70 hrs tantric sex session. 

Let me get serious: I think definition of who is a workaholic depends on the culture and the nation and what they consider abnormal. It's not set in stone. In some places doing work more than 40 hrs is being a workaholic, for instance. But I think it equally depends on the addiction quality to it. Like obsession, like it being costly to family life, or being an escape from family life.


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## Red Panda (Aug 18, 2010)

Being a workaholic means that you don't feel enjoyment from doing other things except work. Well, not entirely, but it definitely feels that you can''t really relax, or that relaxing is a waste of time and things like that. It's basically a psychological addiction. So it definitely is NOT a good thing. Humans need to relax as much as they need to feel productive. Working long hours and thinking about work when you are supposed to relax are unnatural things that cause increased stress and anxiety, which long term have detrimental effects on our bodies and minds (musculoskeletal problems, heart disease, depression etc).


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## NothingElse (Nov 26, 2014)

Not inherently bad, but it becomes an issue when it causes suffering, either to oneself (neglecting basic needs such as a balanced diet and proper sleep, mental illness ranging from major depression to anxiety and so on, toxic stress levels as measured through persistently elevated cortisol) or others (partner/children/family feel relegated to the trash).

Some of these side-effects depend in part on the source of one's workaholism. Internally-motivated workaholism tends to involve a genuine drive to achieve and excel to one's full capacity. When driven by external forces (one's parents, one's boss, one's community), the pressure can become too much...

While it may lead to significantly higher levels of productivity, there are potential drawbacks that need to be acknowledged, lest we all succumb to its sometimes deadly force...

Personally, I believe my workaholism has caused more harm than good.


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## nonnaci (Sep 25, 2011)

It's bad if you're using it as an escape from other parts of life.


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## VoodooDolls (Jul 30, 2013)

as a consecuence japan will end up drowned in their own shit. look at hikokimori and suicide rates at forest aokigahara, (i wonder how much the media has increase them tho) chill out.
body and mind must be satisfied.


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## Fleetfoot (May 9, 2011)

NothingElse said:


> Not inherently bad, but it becomes an issue when it causes suffering, either to oneself (neglecting basic needs such as a balanced diet and proper sleep, mental illness ranging from major depression to anxiety and so on, toxic stress levels as measured through persistently elevated cortisol) or others (partner/children/family feel relegated to the trash).
> 
> Some of these side-effects depend in part on the source of one's workaholism. Internally-motivated workaholism tends to involve a genuine drive to achieve and excel to one's full capacity. When driven by external forces (one's parents, one's boss, one's community), the pressure can become too much...
> 
> ...


It's interesting you bring up motivations, whether they be internal or external. Would you say materialistic goals would fall under externally-motivated people? Do you feel like workaholism that's internally driven can be achieved by everyone or is it one of those things you would probably assume someone is just born with?


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## Brian1 (May 7, 2011)

The story you are about to hear, is based upon real events.....

I think there's a difference between enjoying your work, and a workaholic? You can feel your job isn't the best, but still, enjoy your work. A workaholic in an unhealthy state will actively tell you how to do your job, and tell you to your face they enjoy telling the managers, "can I take so and so's job, because I know I can do it better? " They will lecture you what they did in work. They don't feel bad that they tell you you are crap when it comes to actual work. And they make enemies throughout the store, office, with exception to the managers, whom they yearn to please, like a dog, trying to please its master. They are on the most valuable employee list, and, no one really cares they made the list, because, they've been burned by the employee. They think they are more valuable to the corporation, than other employees. That's when being a workaholic is toxic, and unhealthy. I have been mentally abused, for at least five years, by such people. I try and shrug it off most times, but occasionally it does get to me. I am not on speaking terms with one of them, and, they're my immediate coworker.


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## TurtleQueen (Nov 8, 2014)

I'm probably naturally inclined to be a "workaholic" to a certain extent. I worked hard in school, I worked hard at my student newspaper in college, and I worked hard at student teaching. I often find myself working harder than my peers and even my bosses on some occasions. If I care about my job, I will want to read about potential ways to do it better in my downtime and may think about it more in my downtime than most people will. I can't "leave work at work" as easily as other people can.

I can get incredibly stressed out if I find my job stressful for some reason. I need to have a job where I can be competent and where I can work with people who are positive and who don't broadcast that they hate or don't care about their jobs. I would prefer jobs that don't include highly chaotic environments; don't require me to meet unrealistic deadlines; don't ask me to control or manage other people's behavior; don't subject me to constant evaluation (especially if it hinges on my personality or things beyond my ability to control); and are not considered to have life or death importance to society at large, customers, or people in the company.

I need to have a more realistic outlook on jobs and a more healthy approach to dealing with job-related stress. Because of some experiences in my childhood and my recent past, I am deeply terrified of losing my job and the potential negative consequences that could result from job loss. Being a workaholic has sometimes been extremely unhealthy for me because I let my competence in some area determine my entire sense of self-worth. I am actually happier and healthier when I have something to do, but job-related stress can wreck me in a way it won't wreck most people. In some of my more recent job experiences, I ran myself into the ground working too hard at a job where I had natural weaknesses and allowed my supervisors to treat me like garbage.

A "workaholic" who works hard at his/her job and spends more time focusing on it while he/she isn't at work than most people can still be a healthy person. A "workaholic" who lets work consume his/her life at the expense of other pursuits, lets him/herself be abused by his/her employers, develops poor relationships with loved ones due to work stress, and develops some kind of mental health problem because of work is a very unhealthy person.


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## bigstupidgrin (Sep 26, 2014)

Workaholic is a relative term. Many jobs implicitly require work beyond the contract/job description. Is that wrong? If the employer explicitly demands this, then yes. If you are putting in work on your own prerogative, and it's not unhealthy, then it's a gray area. I know that as an Elementary teacher I'll be working hours beyond the contract. These hours are either pretty low-stress (grading papers while watching TV or outside on a pretty day), fit with my work ethic (I never want to become static, I always want to be learning and evolving about the art and science of teaching), or feed my need for autonomy (designing lessons, re-designing the classroom). 

However, you need to also be realistic when you look at your workload. Are you being efficient with your time? Can you delegate anything? How is your time/relationships/health outside of work being affected?


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## Sangmu (Feb 18, 2014)

I've never understood the term "workaholic". 

Most people are not able to set their own hours. Their occupation or business requires that a certain number of hours be put in + any learning outside of paid work hours in order to stay relevant in their field. Therefore, they're not a workaholic. They're wage slaves.

The other option is living in poverty or abject poverty (homelessness), so....?

Work ethic in Japan cannot be compared to workaholism because the pressure to work is externally put on these men. It's not internal. They lose respect, their families, and their jobs if they do not perform in a certain manner.

I've read about internally motivated workaholicism and I don't buy that anyone is "addicted" to working. Nor are they addicted to the adrenaline produced when they work, which is one half-baked theory out there. These people are just avoiding serious problems in their personal and emotional lives. Work provides a convenient excuse and refuge from home. Ex. They hate and/or are scared of their wife and their kids and can't confront that painful truth so hope that, if they emotionally detach, maybe it'll go away. Maybe they'll go away. Perhaps she'll file for divorce. Maybe she'll have an affair. He didn't cause the divorce. She was just _irrational_.

So-called "workaholics" are just people being passively confrontational - perhaps the very worst and most manipulative trait found in human beings. Passive confrontation is a form of abstracted, silent abuse which makes others take confrontational action so that one can socially buck responsibility for ever initiating them. 

I can understand why families of so called workaholics would rather believe that their loved on is addicted to adrenaline. That's much less painful than admitting the person just doesn't want to spend emotionally intimate time with them.

Work is never an addiction because work is not a substance.


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## PowerShell (Feb 3, 2013)

Yes it's bad in most cases. Most workaholics are using work to escape like any other drug. Most of those type of people are putting in insane amounts of hours but aren't very productive. They're just giving the illusion that they're working when they're not really getting much done. The real key is getting everything done in 40 hours or the least amount of time as possible. The problem is, society values time in seat and it's a badge of honor and the show of a "dedicated" employee that spends all their time in their seat working above and beyond the hours required. It doesn't matter if the employee is half as productive in all those hours but the mere illusion that they're working is enough for people to think they're dedicated.


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## aendern (Dec 28, 2013)

It's labeled "workaholic" because it's bad.

But if you just mean "is liking to work a lot bad?" Then the answer is obviously "no."


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## Freckledfawn (Jan 6, 2015)

I think being a workaholic is only a bad thing when work stops being about making money and more about being used as an excuse to avoid aspects in your life. Bad relationship? Pick up a few hours. Don't want to spend holidays with the family? Volunteer to work that day. Work is an acceptable excuse to provide in these situations, no one will really argue why you are at work. Most will assume it's to make a living. Work is a place where one can often put life on hold to focus on the tasks at hand. Being a workaholic is working for the purpose of escaping from other aspects of your life.


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## S33K3RZ (Oct 18, 2014)

Fleetfoot said:


> And personally, I was working 70 hours a week usually. I also know several people who take on multiple jobs and work just as much.
> 
> From your experience, would you say that people becoming workaholics is an epidemic where only a minority has enough time to manage a successful work-life balance? Or do you believe balance doesn't exist, and that the harder you work the more it will pay off?
> 
> Do you think you're a workaholic?


Short periods of more intense hours could be due to major changes at work; I personally had about 6 months of this at the company I worked for for about 10 years, although most of the time I am more of a 40-50 hour person but I would say that is having a good work ethic and not being a workaholic if you are passionate about your job. Being a workaholic is usually a symptom of something else to which the person is working to avoid. It is crucial to understand what that is to have better self knowledge and have a happier life.


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