Working longer hours is a reality for most IT professionals, but this doesn’t mean you have to become a “workaholic.” When work becomes more important than other priorities in your life, such as family, downtime, self-care, and wellness, the scale starts to tip from being a hard worker to workaholism.
An article in the Harvard Business Review touches on this subject and clarifies the difference between people who work long hours and people who struggle to detach from work.
The study found that “long work hours were not related to any health issues, while workaholism was.” So, while working long hours might sound tiring, as long as you stay focused on work/life balance you should be safe from developing any workaholic health-related issues, such as:
- sleep disruption/insomnia
- frequent headaches
- frequent and/or unpredictable mood changes
- anxiety
- depression
- physical/mental exhaustion
Many people experience burnout from time to time, but burnout is usually temporary and can be rectified by adding more balance into your life. Workaholism is typically longer-term and becomes more of a lifestyle than a phase.