I’m a career expert – here are 5 signs you’re a workaholic and how you can switch off when you get home

A career expert has revealed the top five signs you’re a workaholic and how to get better at leaving the 9-5 at the office.

Andy Brown, a leadership coach, speaker and author from Dorchester, said many people like to say they are “married” to their jobs and wear workaholism like a badge of honor.

However, he emphasized that being tied to your emails 24/7 and putting your job above everything else is not the key to a successful career.

Sacrificing free time with family and friends and neglecting your physical and mental health leads to less resilience and can make you more likely to have panic attacks and experience failed relationships.

Andy told Femail: ‘Many people would never admit they are ‘workaholics’, but the signs are there.

‘Often it’s the people around them who see it most clearly: the partner who is left alone with his parents every evening or the friends who stop texting because they already know the answer will be: ‘not tonight, I gotta get to work.”

Here he reveals the top five signs you’re a workaholic, along with eight ways to combat the problem to ensure you can live your life with more balance.

5 signs you are a workaholic

1. Penalizing working hours

Andy says if you consistently work late at night and on weekends, you’re a workaholic.

This may mean sacrificing sleep or free time with your loved ones to answer emails or log into work systems.

2. An inability to switch off

This can occur if you have trouble relaxing or if you find it difficult to stop thinking about work while you are away from the office.

This can lead to anxiety attacks, sleepless nights and restlessness, which can ultimately result in burnout.

3. A deteriorating personal life

Being “married to the job” means your work always comes first, making it harder to maintain relationships and friendships.

Before you started your role, you may have had hobbies that allowed you to interact with others, but these have now been neglected.

4. Constant stress

You may be a workaholic if you suffer from chronic stress, fatigue and burnout due to constant work.

According to the NHS, stress can manifest itself physically and mentally and lead to behavioral changes.

Physical symptoms may include stomach problems, chest pain, and muscle tension. Psychological symptoms include difficulty concentrating, constant worrying and forgetfulness.

You may also be faster and more irritable, sleep or eat too much or too little, and drink and smoke more.

5. Feeling guilty for taking breaks

Do you work through lunch and eat food at your desk because you’re afraid to take a break?

Or maybe you don’t take your full holiday allowance because you feel like you’re not a ‘team player’.

If you feel guilty or anxious when you take a break or take time off from work, these are signs that you may be suffering from workaholism.

8 Ways to Combat Workaholism

1. Become aware when your emotional overdraft shows up

Andy said many workaholics sacrifice their physical and/or mental health for their work success, something he calls “emotional overdraft.”

But in the long run, this can lead to you becoming very stressed, overwhelmed, and ultimately burned out.

He said: It is a crisis for workers everywhere. By becoming aware that you have an emotional overdraft, and the specific behaviors that cause it, you can notice unhealthy habits and make small changes right away.’

2. Find out what really drives you to workaholism

Andy revealed the ten things workaholics may think or behaviors they embody that can reduce their effectiveness.

These ten things can directly influence performance and the tendency to overwork:

• To trust: I only trust myself; I don’t trust others; I want to stay in control
• Urgency: I don’t have much time; I act reflexively; I do not think
• Expectation: it is normal to feel stressed; it’s my habit
• Duty: its my job; there is no alternative; the buck stops with me
• Just freak out, do it (JFDI) : I get things done; I am a doer
• Cost: we are short of money or resources
• Lost track: I’m out of ideas; I have no other solution
• Load balancing: I have a short-term need; I step in to fill a gap
• Empathy: I’m part of the team; I show care and dedication; I feel guilty if I don’t do it
• Self-esteem: it makes me feel needed; my work is important to me

Andy says that once you know which behaviors occur most often, you have the power to change.

He said: ‘For example, if trust is your main motivator, you will tend to take on work that should be done by others because you don’t trust them to get it done.

“Notice when you’re undermining those around you, and take a step back.”

The expert said many employees score high on “self-esteem” and believe that by working harder they will be seen as more valuable.

‘This is rarely or never the case. Stop valuing other people’s opinions apart from your own and prioritize your own life choices. If you don’t, someone else will make the choices for you,” Andy said.

3. Value your own health

Everyone climbing the career ladder has different levels of resilience and what may be a week of rest and recovery for one person may be a week of energy for another.

Andy said that if you don’t build your resilience, your impact and effectiveness at work and at home begin to decline.

He said workaholics need to start valuing their sleep, rest and play and seeing them as tools to get their best work done, rather than as an inconvenience that keeps you from sending “just one more email.”

“When your cell phone battery dies, you don’t expect it to make even one more call and you consider it weak if it doesn’t work,” Andy added.

4. Refusing “It Should Be Hard”

Andy said a damaging myth about work is the belief that you always have to struggle.

If you can’t get everything done, he says there are three options:

1. Worry and overload yourself with stress

2. Identify a ‘route through’ – work like a horse until you reach the end

3. Work smarter, not harder: seek help; call on some favors; delegate; improve processes

“There are thousands of ways to get more done with less effort if we can break from our usual ways of working,” he said.

5. Be empathetic, but not at all costs

The expert said there is nothing wrong with being empathetic, but when empathy comes from a need to be liked or a desire to fit in, it comes at your own expense.

‘Misapplying empathy keeps you from being effective. If you do something because you feel you have to do it, like working late because other people are still at their desks and you want to support them, then you’re not helping them,” Andy said.

“Ironically, they may want to go home, but they don’t think they can because you’re still here.”

6. Pay attention to the behavior of others

Andy says it’s important to realize that other people have good and bad days just like you and that sharing this idea would lead to a ‘positive ripple’.

‘If everyone around you saw the size of their emotional overdraft as an indicator of how well or poorly they are coping at work, resilience levels would be higher and you would almost certainly see a reduction in stress, burnout and workaholism, and a collectively healthier relationship. to work,” he said.

7. Listen to those who love you

Although it may be an uncomfortable conversation, if you think you are a workaholic, ask your loved ones for advice and tell them how your addiction to work may be affecting them.

How do they experience the consequences of your ‘addiction’? Difficult conversations you’ve been avoiding can be just the push you need to make real changes.

8. Think about what you would rather be doing

What do you appreciate? What else could you do if work wasn’t consuming you?

Andy says that you should set a goal that isn’t work related and apply the positives of your workaholic tendencies (perseverance, dedication, focus) to something that will do you good. How can you use your talent for the good of others or your community?

“Anyone can be successful at work without becoming a workaholic and risking sacrificing their mental and physical health,” Andy said.

‘Just becoming aware of your behavior can lead to immediate and lasting change for the better.’

• Andy Brown is a top leadership coach, speaker and author of the new book The Emotional Overdraft: 10 Simple Changes for Balancing Business Success and Well-Being