Technology encourages growth in the ranks of workaholics

In cities such as Minneapolis and Denver, groups of residents gather regularly in church basements and hospital meeting rooms to talk about their addiction. They share stories about how their addiction has damaged their physical health, destroyed friendships and hurt spouses or children. All have different jobs, but there is one problem they share.

They all are addicted to work.

Support groups for workaholics now exist around the country, in nearly 20 states such as California, Arizona and Wisconsin. The Workaholics Anonymous gatherings, whose aim is to bring members together to battle their compulsion to work, is a sign of how employees are finding it harder to maintain the boundaries between work and life.

Workaholics have long been a part of the workforce. But new research shows the number of these extreme workers is growing, driven to long hours on the job because of new technology, globalization and today’s intensified business pressures. Research is also providing new insight into who these workaholics are: men who endure large amounts of travel and have responsibility for profits and loss.

“Extreme work is real. The technological age has exacerbated this problem beyond belief,” says Ken Siegel, of Beverly Hills, Calif., president of The Impact Group, a group of psychologists who consult with the management of leading global companies. “You can take work into the shower or the bath. There’s no escape. (Extreme workers) often feel like if they don’t work like that, they’ll fail or their performance will suffer. They focus externally on the next goal, the next task.”

A study in the December issue of Harvard Business Review provided new information on the rise in workaholics: Of extreme job holders, 48 percent say they are working an average of 16.6 more hours per week than they did five years ago.

About 60 percent of high-earning individuals work more than 50 hours a week, 35 percent more than 60 hours, and 10 percent more than 80 hours. Add in a typical one-hour commute, and a 60-hour week means leaving home at 7 a.m. and returning at 9 p.m. five days a week. Using the definition of extreme worker, the researchers found about 20 percent of high earners surveyed have extreme jobs.

There is a downside to extreme work behavior. Nearly two-thirds of the respondents say they’d be healthier if they worked less, and more than half believe work gets in the way of strong relationships with their children.

Relationships can suffer

Extreme workers have cut short honeymoons to get back to jobs, and given up on dating or other relationships because they lack the time. In some cases, self-described workaholics say they’ve suffered burnout so extreme, they’ve been left unable to function for days or weeks.

Erica Domesek rarely stops working. She sends e-mails at 3 a.m., forgets to eat lunch until her BlackBerry alarm reminds her and spends evenings networking at dinners with clients. She works at The Experiential Agency (XA), an event marketing firm, involved in public relations for events such as the Sundance Film Festival and the Golden Globes. It’s a heady job for a member of the Generation Y crowd.

But there is a price.

“I can’t even fathom having a boyfriend. I couldn’t do that. The only relationship I have is really with my BlackBerry,” says Domesek, in New York. “I tend to be a people pleaser. I put a lot of pressure on myself. I have to deliver. I use work as an excuse. A lot of my friends are in a great relationship. I do want that.”

Pressure to be more productive

Several societal shifts are helping give rise to the extreme work habit. The business world has become more competitive in the age of globalization, and employers are increasingly putting the pressure on employees to be more productive. The lack of job security can also contribute to the insecurity that may fuel workaholic behavior.

Today’s employees even feel wary of taking time away from the office: 51 million Americans, or 35 percent of the U.S. workforce, will give up some vacation days this year, according to an April survey by Harris Interactive for Expedia.com, an online travel agency. More than a third felt guilty about taking the time off.

Then there is the spread of new technology that has blurred the boundaries between work and personal life. Today, work can be done anywhere, and many employers expect employees to be accessible even when they’re not in the office.

The lure of technology is something that Chris Cicchinelli can relate to. As president of Pure Romance, a Cincinnati provider of intimate products for adults, he spent his honeymoon several years ago in Tahiti. First, he got a satellite phone so he could constantly be in communication with the company. But it was so quiet away from work that he felt anxious.

“I had major anxiety,” Cicchinelli says. “We cut our 10-day trip into five days.”