Workaholism leads to health problems, work addiction risk depends on occupation • Hacker News Board

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

#221

Post by malaysanghi » Thu, Jan 14, 2021, 10:07 AM UTC

I was a young grad student more than a decade ago. When preparing for interviews, a common question we prepared for was : "What are your weaknesses"

I saw a lot of people confidently saying, "My only weakness is that I'm a workaholic". This was supposed to be a strength hidden as a weakness. Employers preferred new hires who were willing to devote themselves to work and had decided they were workaholic without having a single day of work experience.

"Workaholism is a trait" was drilled into us.

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

#222

Post by randomswede » Thu, Jan 14, 2021, 10:50 AM UTC

justathrowa wrote: post #106

vorpalhex wrote: post #94

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

You have a social circle, with social connections.

People you work with. Possibly customers. They would be affected.

I still occasionally mourn the death (wildlife traffic accident) of a colleague from a former workplace. That was 22 years ago, and there is this one interesting technical discussion that I wanted to have with them, that I will now never have. As a result, that coding project has not had a single byte changed in that time, because doing so pretty much requires having that discussion.

This was a person I only interacted with at work (or at work functions).

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

#223

Post by jason0597 » Thu, Jan 14, 2021, 10:56 AM UTC

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…

Here's a quote that may interest you:

---

When asked what the most surprising thing about humanity was the Dalai Lama gave the following response: "Man. Because he sacrifices his health in order to make money. Then he sacrifices money to recuperate his health. And then he is so anxious about the future that he does not enjoy the present; the result being that he does not live in the present or the future; he lives as if he is never going to die, and then dies having never really lived" - Dalai Lama (paraphrased)

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

#224

Post by robinsonhuso » Thu, Jan 14, 2021, 3:39 PM UTC

TempNoConflict wrote: post #146

justathrowa wrote: post #106

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>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.

When I was child I moved around schools a lot, eventually I stopped trying to make friends. As life went on I distanced myself from family and what few friends I had. I ended up horribly depressed for years, never really understanding why. I was young enough when I started down this path that I wasn't really conscious of the decisions I was making and its impact on my emotional wellbeing, it was just an internalized…

Your post resonates so much with me that I created an account just to reply.

I also have trouble building meaningful relationships with people. I know exactly what you mean when you say that it makes you feel alone even when you're around people and that it saps all color from life. Recently, I have also made the connection to me moving around a lot as a kid. I think this might have subconsciously taught me that people come and go and so it's not worth it to invest time and effort into building relationships with them. I was also an outcast in middle school and even though I didn't really mind then I now believe that I built up a thick shell around myself during that time.

Can you say more about your efforts to be more forthcoming and open? I have tried that, but I'm constantly worried about oversharing. I have to consciously assure myself that I'm allowed to talk about myself. Part of the problem seems to be that I can't help but feel like the people that I think of as good friends see me as more of an acquaintance.

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

#225

Post by fatnoah » Thu, Jan 14, 2021, 3:55 PM UTC

bitbuilder wrote: post #145

fatnoah wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>For me I felt completely powerless at the hospital. At work I got to solve “important” problems that were trivial in comparison to the things I had no control over, and was rewarded for doing so. It felt good to be useful when my life felt in complete chaos outside of work. Wow, did this resonate with me. In my case, I was suffering from depression, though I didn't realize it at the time. The extreme focus required…

I'm sure a lot of us can relate. One of my best memories from my career: I was sitting at my desk at 8pm "working" because I had "so much to do". When in reality I was just dreading going home. A coworker that I barely new dropped by my desk and said "Things aren't going well at home, are they? Me either." We proceeded to head across the street to a bar to share stories. It helped immensely at that time. I make an ef…

>If you see someone in the office at all hours, especially when wfh is an option, odds are good things aren't going great for them

It's definitely something I keep a sharp eye out for. Sudden increases or changes in hours definitely warrant a conversation. With COVID and WFH, I've had a few of those conversations as well. It's harder to catch the signals, but they're there. Changes in productivity, hours, etc.

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

#226

Post by ragingrobot » Thu, Jan 14, 2021, 4:47 PM UTC

fatnoah wrote: post #55

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…

>For me I felt completely powerless at the hospital. At work I got to solve “important” problems that were trivial in comparison to the things I had no control over, and was rewarded for doing so. It felt good to be useful when my life felt in complete chaos outside of work. Wow, did this resonate with me. In my case, I was suffering from depression, though I didn't realize it at the time. The extreme focus required…

I can resonate with this one, in addition I often catch myself taking others' tasks just to keep my mind busy.

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

#227

Post by exclusiv » Thu, Jan 14, 2021, 5:01 PM UTC

redisman wrote: post #210

scyzoryk_xyz wrote: post #125

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You do know that social media is not the only thing one can do outside of work, right? Like, there are ways of spending time living that don’t revolve around trying to make “gains”; social, financial or any other kind. Maybe this is something that your parents mean - they’re expressing a worry over whether you’re getting value out of life, as you’re hustling through all those businesses you seem to be running? I noti…

Hilarious how the parent comment seems to categorize the whole rest of life on earth as “meh they’re probably on Facebook”. You know there’s nature, art, other intellectual pursuits, people, using your body in various ways etc.

Snarky much? I specifically mentioned friends.

Anyway, globally I know most are on average.

"On average, global internet users spent 144 minutes on social media sites every day"

The Philippines spends almost 4 hours a day.

I obviously know there are things to do that are not social media. No need to be snarky. I just find that most of the people that have mentioned "you work too much" are heavier than the average social media user.

[1] https://www.digitalmarketing.org/blog/how-much-time-does-the...

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

#228

Post by exclusiv » Thu, Jan 14, 2021, 5:05 PM UTC

scyzoryk_xyz wrote: post #125

exclusiv wrote: post #105

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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'…

You do know that social media is not the only thing one can do outside of work, right? Like, there are ways of spending time living that don’t revolve around trying to make “gains”; social, financial or any other kind. Maybe this is something that your parents mean - they’re expressing a worry over whether you’re getting value out of life, as you’re hustling through all those businesses you seem to be running? I noti…

No my parents misunderstand. They are constantly worrying about money. Some people I think just see others working hard and it's framed on their experience of work.

I grew up a latch key kid and they worked very hard to help me get a great education. Based on this upbringing, I started my family later. As I had planned, I have no financial worries. That unlocks a lot of freedom.

> Like, there are ways of spending time living that don’t revolve around trying to make “gains”; social, financial or any other kind.

No there are not. Everything has a gain of some sort. Even charity work or meditation.

> I notice entrepreneurs using the baby analogy a lot. It’s an interesting distortion of reality...

I have kids and I don't think it's a distortion from that.

You also have to remember that a lot of people choose not to have kids. So yes, that is their figurative baby. Some others may have a dog.

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

#229

Post by muffinman26 » Thu, Jan 14, 2021, 5:45 PM UTC

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…

It's definitely not just boys who get into programming for the escapism, but anyone who is unhappy with how their body or how they look. Computer Science attracts more trans people than any profession I know that isn't related to drag performance.

For me personally, I loved programming as a kid because it had a macho culture I could actually participate in (programming definitely has a macho culture of all-nighters, showing off skills, putting down people who don't understand things as well) and my body (which I hated) didn't matter. Now that I have transitioned to male and have a body I can stand, I actively dislike Computer Science and can't wait to leave it.

As an aside, programming was heavily female-dominated when my grandma was a programmer. There are a lot of factors that contributed to the shift, including changing professional requirements, new job opportunities for women, the advertising around video games, and the stereotypes that developed about programming and nerd culture.

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

#230

Post by Dracophoenix » Thu, Jan 14, 2021, 6:19 PM UTC

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…

How did you find a job that paid that much?