Kanata Chiropractic Centre

Get Empowered: Workaholics vs. Work Enthusiasts

Posted by: Marcelle

There’s an article in the Journal of Business Ethics (2009) 84: 167-172 reviewing the increasingly popular topic of over-working. It’s made us wonder: what’s the real difference between work enthusiasts and workaholics, and can that difference be maintained?

Do passions burn out? Can drive dwindle? Will high flying career guys/gals eventually land and realize they’re no longer passionate, but instead pressurized? How do you get unstuck from this? These are big questions, and certainly they go beyond what can be covered in a blog, but I’d like to chew it over anyhow.

Workaholics: tied to the hours, can’t bring themselves to leave the office, booking overtime and hardly making it home to have dinner before it’s time to crash into bed. Their work is their life, and those bills need to be paid.

Work Enthusiasts: love the job, love the people, and love the challenge. Their lives are their work; so what if other aspects suffer? Work and personal mix with after-hours drinks, business dinners and conference weekends.

The biggest difference here is investment and enthusiasm. But keep this in mind: whether you’re a workaholic or a work enthusiast – sleep deprivation, neglecting family, and not listening to your body’s needs will, eventually, strike back against you. So whether you love your job, or it just pays the bills, we suggest you take steps now to ensure you can continue without burning out.

Here are a few ideas:

• Take your full lunch hour. Ignore the temptation to check your email!
• Relaxation techniques like exercise, massage, and deep breathing can help relieve your stress.
• Find interests outside of work that allow your mind to readjust.
• Don’t work past your scheduled hours. You may look good to the boss, but you’re losing time with your family.
• Take a risk and change your life. If you hate your job, develop a plan to help you escape.
• Forget about the Joneses. Keeping up with your neighbours can turn into a game of ‘who’s furthest in debt’. Working for a lifestyle you can’t enjoy – does that make any sense?

Are you a workaholic or work enthusiast? Is your love for the job still strong – if so, how do you maintain that? What tips can you give for a healthy work-life balance?

We’d love to hear your thoughts.

If you want to read the  journal article on overworking you can find it through this link. But if that doesn’t work, go into Google Scholar and search “burke working to live”.

To your potential!

Dr Marcelle.

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