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How do you decide if someone is a workaholic? Or that you yourself are one?

Some professions, like medical, legal and financial require long working hours even if the employment contract states it’s a 9 to 5 working hour job. For other professions, it might be specific to different times of the year.

There are 2 things I want to make clear about Workaholism.

Firstly, working long hours isn’t necessarily a sign of being a workaholic although it is an initial indicator.

Secondly, it is not necessary that a workaholic suffers from stress or have medical and mental wellness issues. They might have other factors at play that help them to work well and stay well. They might not even feel stressed.

I’ll explain more in a bit but first, let us put the term Workaholism in perspective.

What is Workaholism?

Just like Gravitas or the Wow Factor in Executive Presence, workaholism doesn’t have a clear textbook definition but you’ll know if someone else has it, even if you think you don’t.

Workaholism is a condition in which a person finds it almost impossible to stop working even though it is destructive to their well-being and relationships.

It’s an addiction to work.

The workaholic has a hyper fixation on work functions and may experience neurochemical rewards from engaging in workaholism.

It could be they join an organization where it is the norm and gradually, they get inducted into that work culture, start working longer hours because everyone is doing it and become workaholics too.

When they finally get a wakeup call following a serious medical issue or experience an irretrievable breakdown in personal relations, that’s when they realize they’ve put their own value systems on the backburner and lost out.

Chances are, they might also have acquired Hurry Sickness which adversely impacts their mental wellness.

Then they either quit and find calmer pastures or go deeper into the addiction of letting work take over their lives because it’s easier than facing up to the reality of their situation. That’s an avoidance technique.

Working long hours is not necessarily a sign that a person is a workaholic.

As I said earlier, long hours are the norm in certain professions and industries.

Some people might enjoy the work they do and don’t mind the hours they are putting in. That’s because the motivation level is high, and they are engaged in their work.

For example, scientists, leaders or artists may be highly committed to their work. They consider the usage of their time as an investment to reach their goals or to up level their knowledge and skills. The choice to spend their time on their work over other areas of life is done consciously.

Like their long working hour counterparts, they know when to switch off and focus on other areas of their life with the rest of their time and energy.

But there is a fine line after which that engagement can turn into an obsession or addiction.

When a person starts to use work as a means to avoid problems in other areas of their life or works with compulsion, then we have a problem.

If they can’t stop thinking about work even when they are off duty, it’s a red flag. They are addicted to work.

I can relate to that red flag situation.

Years ago, I worked in an organization where working long hours was not just the norm, it was expected. I should have picked up the warning signs during my first month at the new job. I received a call on a national holiday instructing me to go to a client site for work.

The fact that I had made plans for the day didn’t matter. As a newcomer, I did what was asked but found it irritating because the work required could easily have been done the following day.

The team hadn’t done their work for me to review so I had to sit around trying to look busy but was bored. The boss was a workaholic, so everyone had to tow the party line.

My impression of the boss being a good leader took a big hit. Instead of leading his team to be their best, he was dragging all of us down the rabbit hole to the realm of exhaustion and disenchantment with work.

Needless to say, that organization had a high attrition rate, and I didn’t stay there very long either. I loved my work and up to a point, I was an engaged workaholic knowing when to switch off.

It took a wakeup call to make me stop and smell the coffee

The wakeup call happened when I found I couldn’t switch off and the earlier motivators no longer worked for me. My health started to suffer, and I was perpetually tired. I knew I had to take back control of my time and life before things spiraled out of control.

Years later, I read about a study that unraveled the difference between behaviour (working long hours) and mentality (a compulsion to work, or what we call workaholism).

A survey and health screening of 763 employees found that work hours were not related to health issues, while workaholism was.

Whether or not they worked long hours, people who obsessed over work reported more health complaints and had increased risk for metabolic syndrome; they also reported a higher need for recovery, more sleep problems, more cynicism, more emotional exhaustion, and more depressive feelings than employees who merely worked long hours but did not have workaholic tendencies.

Unlike people who merely work long hours, workaholics struggled to psychologically detach from work.

However, workaholics who loved their jobs were somewhat protected from the most severe health risks.

Whichever way you look at it, workaholism is bad for your health and career, especially if you are trying to position yourself for a leadership role.

Nobody wants to work for a boss who messes up the other areas of your life so much that you know more about the cleaning lady or doorman at work than what’s happening at your child’s school or how many puppies or kittens were birthed by the family pet.

Your stress levels shoot out of the roof and the loved ones for whom you work so hard are actually happier when you’re at work than at home.

I remember a story from my corporate world days where one Partner stopped working crazy hours and found time for his family.

He overheard his young son telling his wife that he really liked the uncle who appeared on Sundays.

Was this partner a workaholic or just loved his work so much that his young family became a second priority?

I can’t answer that question, but I can answer one that is important for you.

Putting in the hours because you are aiming for a promised promotion or want to showcase your leadership potential is okay. Make sure it doesn’t become a routine. You need to understand that you can’t live your life with different areas divided into prioritized silos.

It is important to know when you are crossing the line between working long hours while maintaining a work-life balance that works for you and when you have turned into a workaholic.

You’ll know it when you feel guilty if you don’t turn on your laptop at home or during the weekend.

You cannot become a good leader if you can’t lead yourself first.

If you think telling the boss that you have been working hard will get you that promotion, forget it. The boss will point out your lack of time management skills and people skills because your stress permeated down into the team.

I highly recommend you download The Workaholic’s Guide to Managing Stress. This free report has information to guide you through what being a workaholic means, why it is not necessarily a good thing, and how you can relieve stress even if you tend to work a lot.

It will alert you to what’s going on under the surface with some immediate practical help. You’ll also know if workaholism is out of control for you and prepare you to seek the right support and help.