As a child living in remote Northern B.C., my dad had a dog sled team made up of several Siberian Huskies. Huskies are working dogs prized for their strength and endurance. They require significant exercise and mental stimulation. A Husky without a task is easily bored and can be destructive. In the summertime, my dad would harness his dogs to a small cart to keep them occupied and happy. Without their cart, they would howl their displeasure.
I’m afraid I might be a Husky. I love to work. I love setting tasks and completing them, whether I’m paid for it or not. Even in my downtime I need projects like Lego or training for a long-distance foot race. I often relax fully when I’m occupied.
I recently listened to the podcast Good Hang with Amy Poehler and her guest, Tina Fey, summarized how I feel about work:
Amy Poehler:
What is your relationship to work and has it changed?
Tina Fey:
I think it has changed. I am a work-based person. If I were an animal, I would be a carriage horse, I think. You know, they say like, oh no, these are like some kinds of dog. Like, they want to work or they’ll go insane. So I am that kind of animal I think…..
Should we accept that some of us are just work-based people, or Huskies, or should we be concerned? When do our work-based tendencies tip over to the side of workaholism? And what is the difference between the two?
Workaholism was originally coined in 1971 by Dr. Wayne Oates as a “compulsion, necessity, and uncontrolled addiction to perform relentlessly’. The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines a workaholism as “an obsessive need to work”. Like any addiction, it’s a compulsive need or behavior despite adverse consequences. You must work despite a lack of balance with your home-life, you don’t take vacations and/or you allow your health to suffer due to the compulsion to work.
Our profession may attract those with workaholic tendencies and potentially exacerbate it. As noted in the article, “Lawyers’ Families, Workaholism and Well-Being” by Alberta Lawyers’ Assistance Society:
Many lawyers have workaholism tendencies, if not full-blown workaholism. Our profession rewards lawyers who put work ahead of (almost) everything else in their lives. Making sacrifices for your client, your file, or your firm is a badge of honour that we wear proudly. I think that this is tied in with the traditional lawyer greeting, “are you busy?”, which reinforces the idea that having more work than you can do is the ideal, and that the ideal lawyer soldiers through overwork and under-sleep, mindlessly believing that a sleep deprived lawyer can still do as good a job as a rested lawyer.
There have certainly been times in my life when my work-based nature has strayed into workaholic territory. Recognizing I had an unhealthy approach to work was the first and most difficult step. Even now I question if I am truly just behaving like the Husky I am or if I’m masking my addiction by appearing to be functional or downplaying the impact. Finding resources on the topic and reviewing a few favourites routinely has kept me on track as I continue to question if my love of work is hurting me.
One helpful starting point is “Are You a Workaholic? Time to Take Charge of Your Work-Life” by Robert Taibbi. The article notes that as with other addictions, “we can look at workaholism as a bad solution to possible other problems beneath” including:
- It’s your identity
- You only have one basket
- You use work to avoid
- You’re anxious
It also provides several questions to ask yourself to help break the cycle:
- What are you working for?
- Wha’s your fear if you were to work less?
- What’s your fear if you were to work less?
- What are you avoiding?
Another article that helps maintain the balance is “Work-life Balance: Make it Your Business” by the Canadian Mental Health Association. It lists factors to determine if you are in balance and provides a good check-in to keep you on track:
- You feel like you’ve lost control of your life
- You often feel guilty about neglecting your different roles
- You frequently find it difficult to concentrate on the task at hand
- You’re always tired
If you say yes to any of the above, it may be time to reevaluate your priorities.
The article also provides several practical tips to help achieve balance at home and work. Tips I’ve implemented include:
- Making a distinction between work and the rest of your life. I’m not available 24/7. Work ends for me at 4pm no matter what excuse I try to come up with.
- Creating a buffer between work and home. I often try to walk home after work or at least change my clothes before leaving the office. It helps transport me from the office to my out-of -office space.
Overall, I think I’ve found my way and am managing my Husky tendencies. But it is an ongoing struggle and there is help out there from the useful tips above to the services provided through the lawyer assistance programs offered through our law societies. Continue to question what is beneath your work-based tendencies and if you’ve lost the balance.