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Workaholism leads to health problems, work addiction risk depends on occupation

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Re: Workaholism leads to health problems, work addiction risk depends on occupation

#101

Post by fairity »

honkycat wrote: post #30

Most of the time I've seen it, it is avoidance of the rest of their life. "Change diapers? Oh, sorry honey, I uhh... gotta do this thing at work. Darn it!" One phenomenon I've always noticed about workaholics is that they THINK they are being more productive, but often times they are just spending more time spinning their wheels. Also the effect it has on their mood/interpersonal skills, and the pressure it puts on t…

> One phenomenon I've always noticed about workaholics is that they THINK they are being more productive, but often times they are just spending more time spinning their wheels.

>The effect it has on their mood/interpersonal skills, and the pressure it puts on the rest of the team cancels it out.

> You will perform better if you go to bed and get a full nights rest and clean your brain out

All of these claims are situational and often untrue. It's entirely possible for workaholics to be more productive, inter-personally smooth, and a team player.

The most convincing reason to not be a workaholic is not that it's a counter-productive effort. It's that workaholism will lead to decreased long-term fulfillment (for most people).

Re: Workaholism leads to health problems, work addiction risk depends on occupation

#103

Post by dheera »

jostmey wrote: post #47

I get that Workaholism is a form of escapism for many people, but that's not necessarily the case for everyone. I personally become depressed if I cannot work on something important and potentially valuable, feeling that the days pass without meaning. I spend lots of time with my kid because I see that as important. I set aside time to get enough sleep so that I can remain productive. But I hate weekends (unless at t…

To me workaholism is giving too much time to your main job.

On the other hand I'd I have a LOT of side projects that I consider to have meaning. Most of my vacations are projects, e.g.

https://petapixel.com/2019/07/13/shooting-high-res-thermal-p...

https://www.businessinsider.com/chinas-drastic-changes-in-ur...

Taking vacations like that makes me want to take vacations. I guess to rephrase what I want to say, I think looking for meaning is a fine thing to do, just don't put it all into your day job, look for meaning in other parts of your life too.

Re: Workaholism leads to health problems, work addiction risk depends on occupation

#104

Post by thedmstdmstdmst »

wincy wrote: post #16

After our second daughter was born with a disability and we didn’t know if she’d make it to her first birthday I threw myself into my new job utterly. I was working 7-7 almost every day, took every opportunity to travel, and in general was absent from the situation as much as my “very important job” would allow. For me I felt completely powerless at the hospital. At work I got to solve “important” problems that were…

Thank you for sharing that story.

Re: Workaholism leads to health problems, work addiction risk depends on occupation

#105

Post by exclusiv »

markus_zhang wrote: post #6

I believe workaholists do not neccesarily love their job, but hate something else so much that they would rather find some place to take a bit of rest. I think I'm developing into one...

I think it's different for entrepreneur workaholics. Your startup is your baby. It's fun. It's challenging. It's rewarding.

And when you're young I think it's great to dedicate to work. You accelerate your learning. You make more money. You meet smart people. I don't know anyone very knowledgeable and skilled for their age that did a work/life balance route.

If you are a workaholic but also a learnaholic, then I don't buy that as this toxic thing that can drive mental and physical health issues. Ok, maybe sleep issues.

I have a few businesses and I'd rather work on them than spend time on social media like my non-workaholic friends.

It's ok for people to say "you work too much", but I don't tell my friends "you spend too much time on Facebook". Maybe I should though?

I do agree that it can be a big problem though. Many dedicate themselves to their work because they are escaping something or avoiding other important obligations.

If that doesn't apply, then go get it!

Life is a hell of a lot more enjoyable when you don't have to worry about finances.

My parents told me "you care too much about money". No I care infinitely about NOT worrying about money. There's a difference.

You can care about money a lot, be focused on financial freedom and not be a Scrooge and accumulating for no reason.

Re: Workaholism leads to health problems, work addiction risk depends on occupation

#106

Post by justathrowa »

vorpalhex wrote: post #94
justathrowa wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>But that doesn't mean it is a healthy way to spend all of your time. Dunno about that. Just a personal anecdote, but this year my boss specifically told me to work less, slashing my salary down by $10,000 a year to emphasize the point. Prior to this, 200 to 240 hours a month was pretty typical and has been for the last 8 years. (I doubt it's out of real concern for my health, my workload hasn't been reduced). What I…

Do you have any kind of meaningful social connections outside of work? Whether it's family, religion, non-religious social orgs, hobbies or whatever, a strong set of social connections tends to correlate with happiness. It might also be worth looking into adopting or rescuing a pet, a senior dog tends to be low energy and they typically have low adoption rates. They are often loyal, loving and excellent companions. I…

>Do you have any kind of meaningful social connections outside of work?

No, but that's been the status quo so I was a child.

Wouldn't having a social circle that cause more problems though? Suicide's main issue is the distress it causes for social connections. No circle, no problems.

Re: Workaholism leads to health problems, work addiction risk depends on occupation

#107

Post by d33lio »

I'd regret not trying with every bit of my intellect and ability more than burning out in the process of trying. Up until my mid twenties I realized I'd been "protecting myself" and in effect making myself miserable because I kept telling myself that my goals would just lead to burn out and wouldn't be worth it.

Re: Workaholism leads to health problems, work addiction risk depends on occupation

#108

Post by duggable »

jostmey wrote: post #47

I get that Workaholism is a form of escapism for many people, but that's not necessarily the case for everyone. I personally become depressed if I cannot work on something important and potentially valuable, feeling that the days pass without meaning. I spend lots of time with my kid because I see that as important. I set aside time to get enough sleep so that I can remain productive. But I hate weekends (unless at t…

Man, this is me as well. I DREAD the weekends cause I don't know what to do with myself. I sit around feeling anxious and half-depressed, and my mind runs in circles. I'm typically excited for Monday so I can get back to work and distract myself from whatever is going on inside my head.

Re: Workaholism leads to health problems, work addiction risk depends on occupation

#109

Post by offtop5 »

noir_lord wrote: post #43
offtop5 wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

While not nearly as serious, I found myself more focused on work after a breakup back in 2019 . This focus was very good for me though and neeted a 80k pay increase. However , I find myself not particularly wanting to get into a relationship again. Felt like a very painful experience. I'd rather make music instead .

> However , I find myself not particularly wanting to get into a relationship again. Felt like a very painful experience. I'd rather make music instead . Totally normal and healthy, I felt like that when my relationship fell apart in 2014, didn't start dating again for about a year, met the woman I'm still (and plan to spend the rest of my life with) the year after that, the societal pressure to be in a relationship…

>societal pressure to be in a relationship is real.

Thanks for saying this. I had a partner who was divorced in 2019 as well, she really made it seem like she stayed in multiple crappy marriages to look good.

I'm grateful for a safe place to sleep and food, which is much more than I expected to have in my youth.

Re: Workaholism leads to health problems, work addiction risk depends on occupation

#110

Post by Jabbles »

laurent92 wrote: post #90
markus_zhang wrote: post #6

I believe workaholists do not neccesarily love their job, but hate something else so much that they would rather find some place to take a bit of rest. I think I'm developing into one...

Now that you are not at the top, I can say it: I have the theory that boys get into programming as a form of escapism – because the external world is frustrating to them. It is certainly my case, external world has all sorts of illogic demands, things that exist but should not be explicited, social rules, or various insults and condescension, some of them because we’re boys (my sister used to tell me boys have 13% fe…

Why do you think that this is due to your gender, rather than any other aspect?
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