As a society, we’ve decided that many behaviours that were acceptable only a few decades ago, are now completely out of the question. A careful viewing of any episode of Mad Men will confirm how much has changed in a relatively short time. Gone are the days of getting completely plastered at lunch, and then driving back to the office to finish up your day. Same goes for smoking, recreational drug use, gambling, gluttony, and virtually all other forms of excessive, self-destructive behaviour.
There is one glaring exception: workoholism. I am often bombarded on Monday mornings with tales of alleged heroism about how someone successfully avoided their family all weekend, so they could work right through to finish some insignificant office project. The same people will drone on about how they get to the office before 7.00am, and work past 6.00pm on a regular basis.
Here’s a newsflash: this is something to be embarrassed about, not something one brags about. Not many people entertain people at the water cooler boasting about their other self destructive vices:
“I spent the weekend gambling away my kids’ tuition money!”
“I ate 12 boxes of Krispy-Kreme’s in one sitting on Saturday. Then I purged, and did it again.”
“I’m pretty sure my eating disorder is serious enough now to warrant medical attention”
All of these sound as ridiculous to me as, “I work 80 hours per week on a regular basis”. Congratulations – you’re completely dysfunctional, and probably need to see a mental health professional – top speed.
Workoholism is the working professional’s last and only chance to be a martyr. These martyrs think the tales of their self-perceived heroics will place them in higher standing amongst their peers and boss. It doesn’t – the only thing your organization cares about is what you get done. Think of how many times in your working life you’ve seen the obsessively hard worker be passed over by someone else, who works significantly less, but gets way more done.
There are only two situations that I could envision someone working an 80 hour week:
1) The exceptional project, event or occurrence that will quickly pass to return to a more reasonable way of working, or
2) You are a farmer – in which case you have my gratitude and respect.
The rest of you need to wake up and realize this self-destructive behaviour for what it is. For thoughts on how to get out of workoholic trap, visit our site this week, where we talk about the 80/20 rule, and how to apply it.