In the age of the always-on smartphone and notifications that know no weekends or holidays, the boundary between work and private life has become porous. More and more people continue to "carry the office in their pocket," checking emails late at night or responding to work messages over dinner. This phenomenon, known as workaholism , isn't simply a passion for one's profession: it's a form of addiction that intertwines psychological aspects and social dynamics, with significant consequences for individual and collective well-being.
The profile of the “workaholic”
Scholars define it as a condition characterized by:
- compulsivity: the uncontrollable urge to work harder and harder;
- perfectionism: the anxiety of control that pushes you to never switch off;
- identity competition: the need to strengthen one's career at the expense of other areas of life.
Unlike engagement — a healthy enthusiasm for one's work—workaholism does not generate satisfaction but rather exhaustion, insomnia, social isolation, and, in extreme cases, can lead to burnout or even tragic outcomes like karoshi in Japan.
Psychology and Sociology of Workaholism: A Common Core
Workaholism doesn't just arise from personality traits (such as narcissism or Type A personality). It's also a product of the organizational and cultural context:
- incentive systems based solely on productivity,
- hypercompetitive environments,
- a corporate culture that glorifies limitless availability.
This is where the sociology of work comes in : workaholism isn't just about the individual psyche, it reflects the evolution of a production model that has made work performance the cornerstone of social identity. The neoliberal logic of "homo faber" transforms the worker into human capital to be constantly valorized, rewarding those who sacrifice personal time and private relationships. In this sense, workaholism is also a collective phenomenon , a symptom of a system that pushes toward overwork.
The invisible risks and the social price
If in the short term the workaholic may appear to be "the ideal employee", in the long term the risks multiply:
- decline in real productivity,
- psychophysical damage (insomnia, headaches, chronic stress),
- deterioration of family and social relationships,
- cultural contagion within organizations, where the “overtime climate” becomes the norm.
On a sociological level, this produces a domino effect: more fragile relationships, less community participation, and an erosion of the psychological contract between worker and organization. In other words, the mutual trust that underpins work and social life is eroded.
What are the solutions for workaholism?
Research suggests two avenues: on the one hand, individual interventions , such as promoting self-reflection practices and psychological support to recognize and contain the signs of addiction; on the other, acting on organizational and social responsibility , such as reviewing evaluation systems, limiting overtime, promoting work-life balance policies, and spreading a sustainable work culture.
But now let's try to imagine three everyday scenes to understand better.
A manager answers emails at 2 a.m., convinced that his dedication will secure his next promotion. A freelancer, fearing losing clients, accepts every assignment, even at the expense of family weekends. A young graduate, recently hired by a highly competitive company, feels guilty if she doesn't stay late in the office because "everyone does that."
Three different stories, one common thread: the transformation of work into dependency . But if the problem manifests itself on an individual scale, the solution can only be collective.
- For individuals, we need to cultivate "workplace hygiene" practices: turning off notifications after hours, pursuing hobbies unrelated to our careers, learning to say no. Small acts of resistance that rebuild the boundaries between work and life.
- For organizations, it is crucial to rethink evaluation systems: rewarding not only the quantity of hours but also the quality of results, supporting flexibility policies and encouraging spaces for socializing outside of work.
- For the companyThe challenge is cultural: to break the myth of the tireless worker as a model of success and also recognize the value of free time, care, and rest.
Workaholism is therefore not a personal pathology, but a reflection of our social and economic structures. The real question is not "how to stop working too much," but what kind of society we want to build : one founded on continuous performance, or one that recognizes the dignity of limitations and the richness of life beyond work.
References
- Balducci, C., Avanzi, L. and Fraccaroli, F. (2018) The individual «costs» of workaholism: An analysis based on multisource and prospective data, in «Journal of Management», 44(7), pp. 2961-2986, https://doi.org/10.1177/0149206316658348.
- Akutsu, S., Katsumura, F. and Yamamoto, S. (2022) The antecedents and consequences of workaholism: Findings from the modern Japanese labor market, in «Frontiers in Psychology», 13, 812821, pp. 1-15.
