New Yorkers = Workaholics? Striving for Work-Life Balance
New York City, famously known as the "city that never sleeps," is one of the world's most expensive, busiest, and most competitive cities. When I first arrived in New York as a student, I couldn't afford the rent, so four of us shared a one-bedroom apartment (two in the bedroom, two in the living room partitioned with Ikea cabinets). This tiny apartment cost $3500 a month. 😭 In such a challenging environment, it's easy to understand why New Yorkers often fall into a workaholic state to survive. However, overworking is not beneficial for career development and can lead to severe mental and physical health issues.
The Dangers of Overworking
Psychological research indicates that long-term overworking can lead to stress, anxiety, depression, and even heart disease (Pfeffer, 2018; Virtanen et al., 2018).
The Psychology Behind Workaholism
Psychologists point out that being a workaholic is not just about long working hours but an excessive obsession with work, neglecting other aspects of life such as family and entertainment. This obsession might stem from a strong desire for success or seeking validation and self-worth through work (Mudrack & Naughton, 2001).
Interestingly, this intense drive sometimes reflects a lack of life goals or interests outside of work. Many people, under prolonged stress and work, lose their sense of purpose or passion and instead immerse themselves in work unconditionally. This explains why many workaholics in New York are not just ambitious young professionals but also many seemingly introverted or reticent individuals.
Work-Life Balance: More Than Just a Slogan
Finding a work-life balance is crucial for maintaining mental and physical health. However, it often becomes a slogan or another "task" because the real reasons for becoming a workaholic are often bad habits and psychological needs.
Practices to Achieve Work-Life Balance
Set Clear Boundaries
Clearly separate work time (and space, especially with the prevalence of remote work) from personal time and space to avoid the blurring of work and personal life.
Learn to Say No
Don’t feel obligated to accept every work opportunity, meeting, favor, and challenge, especially if it impacts other areas of your life.
Cultivate Interests and Hobbies
Engage in non-work-related activities, which can provide mental relaxation and help expand your social circle. Research by Sonnentag and colleagues (2018) shows that regularly participating in leisure activities after work can effectively reduce work-related stress and health issues.
Seek Professional Help
When work stress becomes overwhelming, seeking assistance from mental health professionals is a wise move.
Overworking Can Make Us Miss the Most Important Things in Life
Lastly, why is being a workaholic detrimental to career development? Because we must reserve time and mental space to focus on long-term and important aspects of life.
The most important things in life—such as close personal relationships, long-term skill development, networking, entrepreneurial plans, or innovative ideas—often cannot be accomplished in short bursts of busy work. These require deliberately allocated quality time and mental space for long-term planning and nurturing.
Constant, mindless work can cause us to miss out on these more significant life goals. While short-term diligence and effort are important, without proper balance, we can easily become one-dimensional and narrow-minded, potentially leading to health or psychological issues. Therefore, reasonably managing time and reserving energy and space to pursue genuinely meaningful things are essential steps toward a more fulfilling and healthy life.
Conclusion
Work is undoubtedly important, but overworking can cause irreversible damage to mental and physical health. In the competitive life of New York, finding a work-life balance is especially crucial. By practicing the suggestions above, we can live happier, healthier lives and work more effectively.
Written especially for those of us who can't distinguish between work, life, weekdays, and weekends. 😌
References
Mudrack, P. E., & Naughton, T. J. (2001). The assessment of workaholism as behavioral tendencies: Scale development and preliminary empirical testing. International Journal of Stress Management, 8(2), 93-111.
Pfeffer, J. (2018). Dying for a Paycheck: How Modern Management Harms Employee Health and Company Performance. HarperCollins.
Sonnentag, S., Venz, L., & Casper, A. (2018). Advances in recovery research: What have we learned? What should be done next? Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 22(3), 365-380.
Virtanen, M., Heikkilä, K., Jokela, M., Ferrie, J. E., Batty, G. D., Vahtera, J., & Kivimäki, M. (2018). Long working hours and coronary heart disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis. American journal of epidemiology, 176(7), 586-596.
