It is time to change so as not to harm the youngest

Working too much is bad for your health. It is usually a joke among friends, but work addiction (workaholics) is a serious problem for many people, sometimes unaware that they have a disease. There are those who impose deadlines on themselves and work day and night because they do not tolerate delays, those who are unable to put work on the back burner even when chatting with friends, or those who simply cannot tear themselves away from the computer either at night or the weekend.

Although many researchers point out the distinction between those who work too much and those affected by work addiction, the problem is serious because it is widespread and often underestimated by the victims themselves. Especially because the inability to detach oneself from work has negative consequences on many other aspects of life: interpersonal relationships, relationships with family and the way one spends one’s free time. But there is an even worse element, certified by studies, which concerns mood, on average worse than for other people, even when workaholics are doing what they most desire. Working, of course.

In addition to impoverishing one’s life and compromising friendships and pleasures, this can also damage one’s mental health, with a pattern of behaviour that can gradually lead to death, psychologically even before physically.

Social and financial reasons

The inability to control the urge to work all the time is difficult to combat, not least because the workaholics organise their daily life around work, which becomes the only source of potential gratification. A goal that is rarely reached, however, due to the obsession of always having to do more. While the tendency to work too much appeared in the 2000s, thanks in part to the advent of the Internet, which multiplied work activities with digital technology, the younger generations are more prone to addiction. The reason is to be found in a contemporary society that tends to view those who spend more time at work in a positive light. It happens in many companies, where bosses demand top performance over a prolonged period of time, thus risking sending employees into burnout.

Analysing the changes generated, in the face of various advantages, smart working has also contributed to mixing work and home contexts, reducing the barriers separating time at work from free time. Another element weighing on young people is financial uncertainty, which determines the need to increase income to cope with the rising cost of living. In this case, there is no other solution but to find alternatives to earn more money, which means spending more time working.

This is why it cannot be surprising but should give us pause for thought when we see those at their computers, even on the underground, at the post office or during a break at the gym. According to research published in Forbes in 2019, as many as 66% of American millennials admit to working too much, often even when sick and on weekends. The trend is worrying because many say they are willing to work even on holidays.

Workaholics Anonymous an opportunity to solve the problem

Having had the opportunity to meet so many journalists and even more freelancers working in graphics, editing, photography, and video, I know how much the Under-40s suffer from this situation. There is an awareness of having to work well beyond the canonical 8-hour day because there are many tasks to be done, and those who work independently cannot count on the help of an editorial team. It is paradoxical, but the technological evolution has also contributed to this situation, with the possibility of working on the move, anytime and anywhere, thanks to laptops, tablets and smartphones.

Compared to the past, I have chosen to devote fewer hours to work, even if it is impossible. An effective remedy for detaching oneself from work can be to fill one’s daily routine with what gives one positive feeling (sports, music, cinema, video games, reading, going for walks), a recipe for combating guilt, anxiety and depression that often generates work addiction. Concrete help can come from support groups, such as Workaholics Anonymous, which, following the style of Alcoholics Anonymous, brings together people suffering from the same problem to confront each other, avoid being judged, and not feel alone. Attending such a group, either face-to-face or online, is an excellent first step in trying to fight workaholism.