For much of my leadership career (1986 to 2012), I devoted a significant amount of time, energy, and effort to being a good leader and on trying to go from being a good leader to a great leader. The consequence of that commitment was there were far too many work days that started early and ended late, and far too many weekends where downtime equated to a bit of sleeping in (potentially) before getting back to work at home. If I am honest with myself, the real consequences of that work addiction were poor physical and mental health along with not insignificant damage done to family's well-being.
Why start to discuss this concept of work addiction when so much of the public discourse has been on quiet quitting and the great resignation? I do believe, in fact, that these polar opposite responses stem from a similar desire to achieve some form of meaning in our lives. Some people double down on work at the expense of all else, believing it will help them attain their brass ring. Others choose a different path and a complete reset of life's priorities. More recently, what brought this topic back to my attention was the news story of the Twitter executive (Esther Crawford) who was previously seen in a viral photo sleeping on the floor at headquarters as Elon Musk took over the company. Ultimately, that commitment and loyalty (delusion?) was not enough to maintain her status in the company. She was recently fired.
Interestingly enough, Crawford's take on her termination wasn't cause for regret or immediate self-reflection on what had been sacrificed for this total commitment to career. Rather she took to social media days after her termination to do battle with critics who had noted that she got the axe despite her loyalty to her boss and her job. "The worst take you could have from watching me go all-in on Twitter 2.0 is that my optimism or hard work was a mistake," Crawford tweeted. "Those who jeer & mock are necessarily on the sidelines and not in the arena," she said, referencing a famous quote by Theodore Roosevelt.
Time will tell whether Crawford has any change of heart. She might not. She could soon jump into the next business or entrepreneurial venture that feeds her. For as many people that are looking for work-life balance, we still have a significant number that drive themselves forward relentlessly in business or career. I'm coaching some of those people now! People who don't believe that "no" or "not now" is an appropriate answer. People who believe that the current situation of overwork is temporary and with one more push, the work boulder can be pushed over the hill. People who look around them and believe leadership and business success equals more time and more time and more time invested at the coal face of work (even at the expense of self and family).
What I have also observed over the past few years as well - not incidentally related to our COVID-19 reality and the hybrid work environment - is technology (Zoom-based meetings, office technology readily available in the home) has significantly blurred the lines between work and private life. We get up and we can immediately start work. No need to commute. We can "manage" back-to-back meetings without having to worry about walking from office space to meeting room. We can extend our hours deep into the evenings... well... just because we can.
However, what my clients are discovering, much like I discovered many years ago, is work is a relentless machine. It will take all you give to it and it will still leave you feeling like there is so much more yet to be done. You are never finished and never can finish.
But there are many like Esther Crawford who will not or cannot slow the pace. They may actually be suffering from an addiction to work. Workaholics is a term that has been around forever, but in days past we might not even have called it that. Excess work was just seen as the normal part of career advancement. But what drives this behavior? What makes this type of pace an addiction? I offer a few thoughts below.
Expectations of Self/Others. Some of us are very goal driven. I include myself in this category. Whether as part of our upbringing or based on our earliest experiences of work, we have developed an expectation of self that success requires drive and sacrifice to get ahead. We have a goal in mind, an end to be achieved. We also often wrap up achievement of career or business goals with our worth or value as a human being. How joyous and rewarding to call myself CEO, or COO or VP. We crave to introduce ourselves to others with these titles. I know I took great pride in those titles. In some cases this drive for self-worth is wrapped up in what we see others achieving, assessing ourselves against them (e.g., "hey at age 35 they are here, I'm falling behind, better get moving"), and looking to catch up or speed ahead. We strive on the competition and the win.
Don't Let the Team Down. In other cases, and certainly something I have heard recently from more than one of my coaching clients, is an intense desire to not let one's team down. This can operate when an individual is a member of a team or as a team lead. My clients often express a desire to protect their teams from overwork, they look to shelter them from challenging situations, and so forth. But this all comes at a personal cost. The spirit of altruism results in the individual team member or leader carrying a load that is not sustainable long term.
I've Got Something to Prove! At first blush this might seem to be directly related back to the expectations noted up above. And to some extent it is. However, whereas the former examples are driven a bit more from a positive intent (e.g., I believe I can make it if I work hard enough), what I am talking about here is a drive to diminish or eliminate any sense of inadequacy one might feel about work or leadership capabilities. This is the chip on the shoulder mentality. If you believe others have counted you out or have considered you unworthy, your work drive is intended - come hell or high water - to prove the bastards wrong! I too have had some of this as my motivating force for overwork.
Being Part of the Inner Circle. What could be more enticing than to "arrive" and get an opportunity to socialize and partner with a variety of other prestigious leaders and business people! Each of us, in our own way, wants to be part of a tribe, and wouldn't it be great to be in the biggest and best tribe in whatever way we define it. We can then further justify our work addiction, attendance at more functions, attendance at more meetings and networking functions from a standpoint that networks build career and business opportunities, advance the interests of our teams, and help build up prestige for our organization. We are altruistic leaders, working on behalf of the masses, coupled with a healthy (or unhealthy?) dose of self-advancement.
Pure Adrenaline. The final thought I will put to this is work addiction is like any other addiction. Tolerance is a reality. When our careers first start, we have youthful energy and enthusiasm. We are learning the ropes. We take on more responsibility and workload. And if you do well at your tasks, your reward is to typically get more responsibility and more workload. And the cycle continues. Over time, like a drug addiction, our brain and body grow accustomed to a certain level of stimulation and we find we can do more and - more importantly - we need more of that stimulation to remain engaged and alive. The biggest flag in this regard is we have a hard time disconnecting from work. We feel much guilt if we knock off from work at a normal time or feel more than a bit twitchy when going on vacation.
How do you know if you have a work addiction? You could look at some of the notes above to conduct some form of self-diagnosis. Am I actually working more than a regular workday/week on a regular basis? Am I often doing work or responding to emails at all hours of the day or evening? Do I believe that one more hour, or one more day, or one more week at a relentless pace will get me over the hump - only to see the next mountain rise up before me?
More recently I discovered an interesting assessment tool that directly focuses on work addiction. The Bergen Work Addiction Scale uses seven basic criteria to identify work addiction, where all items are scored on the following scale: (1) Never, (2) Rarely, (3) Sometimes, (4) Often, (5) Always:
- You think of how you can free up more time to work
- You spend much more time working than initially intended
- You work in order reduce feelings of guilt, anxiety, helplessness or depression
- You have been told by others to cut down on work without listening to them
- You become stressed if you are prohibited from working
- You place less emphasis or priority on hobbies, leisure activities, exercise and family/relationships because of your work
- You work so much that it has negatively influenced your health.
Greg Hadubiak, MHSA, FACHE, CEC, PCC
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