Joseph Soares is a former advisor to the Prime Minister of Canada, and a managing partner at HR firm IBPROM Corp.
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When we hear the term "workaholic," it often conjures images of hard, dedicated workers. One of the most common ways people define a workaholic is simply "someone who works... a lot." They're seen as a professional for whom work is a defining aspect of their life. In reality, workaholism is an addiction. It can actually destroy lives because it affects one's relationships with work, with colleagues, with family and friends and with their larger community.
It's easy to overlook the impact workaholism can have on the people around us, especially the people we love the most. In many cultures, hard work is not only valued; it's a mantra repeated often throughout our teen and young adult lives. “Work hard so you can achieve anything.” “When you work hard, you’ll succeed.” It’s easy to slip into a mindset that holds you captive and, ultimately, drives you further and further away from what had once been most important.
But balance is essential in life, whether you’re an entry-level worker just beginning to climb your way up the ladder or an executive whose leadership skills have eroded due to a myopic focus at the workplace.
Why Is Workaholism So Dangerous To Today’s Leaders?
Pressure is intense today, in whatever work environment or industry you’re in. There’s pressure to not just perform, but to excel, to exceed expectations. Deadlines seem to loom around every conceivable corner, and just when you’ve come through the other side of one, another is seeking to plow you over.
It’s enough to make anyone feel as though they can’t let up, not even for one second. But when you keep the pedal to the metal, you’re actually slipping, losing balance in your life. Even though it may appear like you’re making headway—reaching goals and meeting deadlines—it's more than likely that you’ll end up falling behind.
This is especially true for leaders. It’s not because they don't produce results, necessarily. Oftentimes, it's actually that their relationship with their team weakens. When the leader is putting in more hours, devoting more of their life and energy to a project, it becomes more about them and their effort and less about what the team delivers.
If you become too focused on what you’re doing, the entire idea of teamwork goes out the window. And tragically, when you're a workaholic and a team leader, you might begin to expect the same over-the-top commitment to work from your employees. This disregards the obligations they may have at home or in their community—as well as your own.
How To Identify Workaholic Traits
Now, not everyone who works long hours is a workaholic. There are many other explanations for why someone will put in long hours at the office. It could be that they don’t have many obligations outside of work, because they'd prefer to be laser-focused in their younger years so they can relax later on or because they’re going through a difficult transition in life and work is a nice distraction.
It’s easy to get sucked in by higher and higher expectations of the workplace, business priorities or even directives from executives or other stakeholders. After all, when your focus is climbing that corporate ladder, achieving promotion after promotion, you may start to see anything less than perfect as a threat to your success.
This can even extend to how you feel about your peers. If they’re working later hours, coming in earlier or taking work home on the weekends, would you follow suit? Being a workaholic can suddenly make your professional life a mental race to see how much you can accomplish on your own. This means, however, that you’re no longer leading; you’re carrying the entire weight by yourself.
If this sounds true to life, you may need to acknowledge a bad habit is developing—or has already developed. And when you've formed a habit, it may be difficult to break.
How Do You Find Balance?
One of the most effective ways to find balance and combat a workaholic mindset to set boundaries. It’s okay to say "No" or "Not right now," no matter what an overbearing or unreasonable boss might say. For example, if you want to be present in your personal life, whether that's with your family or friends, then letting people know you're not available outside of normal working hours is a reasonable boundary.
Once you find places where you can create a healthier relationship with work, you may begin to realize how important teamwork is. The truth is you’ll get far more done with a devoted, united team when you're not a bunch of workaholics running around trying to outdo one another. Plus, you’ll ensure you're in a better position as a leader to help others find balance in their own life. When you stop prioritizing workaholism, you'll achieve the very success you hoped to see.
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