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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

#171

Post by afpx »

Tycho wrote: post #168
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…

Go to church. The people there will talk to you and welcome you to join activities. During the service all you have to do is stand up, sit down, and sing along. Listening is optional. Even if you are not religious, you can treat it as some sort of research into mass psychology or systems of civilization.

Christianity has been a great brain hack for me. I recently converted after reading through a modern, literal translation of the NT (Hart). I was previously an atheist my entire life.

Distilled down, with all the noise and controversy cut out, one's left with an existential God who only asks that we submit to him, be good to everyone, and work our hardest to just be our authentic selves.

A nice side effect, as you alluded, is that one instantly gets a family of 3 billion people who are basically forced to like and accept them (as long as they're 'good' - which varies with Christian sect).

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

#172

Post by tester756 »

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…

>I have the theory that boys get into programming as a form of escapism – because the external world is frustrating to them.

of course not all are like this

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

#173

Post by simplestman »

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…

This describes me, sort of. I feel more and more lack of control over my personal life. My parents have become demanding and mean as they have gotten old. My wife wants to get a bigger home while I don't think we can afford it. But I am too tired of arguing, so just giving in and going to get whatever she wants. My son loves and I love him more than anything, but when I am not working, he wants to do everything with me. Which is great but also very tiring. Simple tasks become super long.

So I was spending longer hours in the office and now longer hours doing work from home. Also I am starting different business ventures that take me out of home. Those are the only things where I feel like I have some control. I can push back against my boss a lot easier than against my parents or wife.

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

#174

Post by jborichevskiy »

Tycho wrote: post #168
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…

Go to church. The people there will talk to you and welcome you to join activities. During the service all you have to do is stand up, sit down, and sing along. Listening is optional. Even if you are not religious, you can treat it as some sort of research into mass psychology or systems of civilization.

To add to this: if the religiosity of modern Christian denominations is off-putting - I recommend taking a look at Unitarian Universalism. If I _had_ to pick a church to try and attend today that didn't grate with my morals, I'd probably start my search here.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unitarian_Universalism

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

#175

Post by angrais »

sli wrote: post #147

My father worked his whole life and only retired when he started having seizures. It got him and my mother their current homer, but it sacrificed his physical health and basically any relationship he may have had with his family, because he was either working (usually 12 hour days) or sleeping. I really hope it was worth it for him, because I could never do that to myself. Giving up that much of yourself and your lif…

Likely your dad did it for himself, you, your mother, and your siblings , rather than a corporation.

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

#176

Post by slumpt_ »

throwaway91627 wrote: post #8

Learned this the hard way. Spent the last 7 years grinding text books resulting in a place on a Masters in CS and a ~$200k income while working remotely from the UK (without a degree, at 26). Whole purpose was to earn as much as I could and it took over my life. Now I’m on antidepressants and overweight. Recently quit my uni course and job, and settled for a role around $65k with a New Years resolution to never be a…

Considering same here. 300k valley salary ready to leave the valley and make maybe 100k in a country that isn’t fucked.

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

#177

Post by f430 » 

    “You are not your job, you're not how much money you have in the bank. You are not the car you drive. You're not the contents of your wallet. You are not your fucking khakis. You are all singing, all dancing crap of the world.”
Stop judging yourself, others instead judge the action, and you shall be free from the hypnosis that many never wake from.

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

#178

Post by nullsense »

justathrowa wrote: post #56
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…

>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…

My dad killed himself when I was 15. I found his body after coming home from school on a sunny day excited to tell him I'd finally done well on a math test. It destroyed me emotionally. I didn't come right for 5 years and it left permanent emotional scars. It was hands down the nastiest, most brutal, awful and enduring experience I've ever had.

I beg you to reconsider. Talk to the people in your life about how you feel.

Edit: reflecting on this I feel like there is a law of conservation of pain. You can't eliminate your pain by suicide, you simply transfer it to others.

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

#179

Post by shrimp_emoji »

tinyhouse wrote: post #76

It's simple: Work to live. Don't live to work. Yeah, I'm talking to you Americans*. * Mostly joking. Workaholism exists everywhere. It's a reference to Emily in Paris.

Lower social safety or unionization probably makes it a little harder for Americans.

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

#180

Post by giantg2 »

I vaguely remember a study from the UK dealing with depression and it's causes. I think it had said that there was a higher percentage of participants who were depressed because they were fired from their jobs than there were from their spouse leaving them. I remembered that seemed pretty interesting at the time. Now I feel like it kinda makes sense (you lost your source of money vs an unhappy marriage ending).
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