There's a difference between working a lot and being unable to stop. The first is a choice, even a tiring one, even a temporary one. The second is something else, and it has a name: workaholism, work addiction.
The word originated in the seventies as a linguistic play on alcoholic, and it stuck because the comparison holds up more than it seems.
It's not about working a lot
This is the confusion to clear up first, because the number of hours is not enough to define anything.
There are people who work sixty hours a week during an intense period, with pleasure, and when the period ends they stop without difficulty. And there are people who work forty and can't turn off their phone on weekends, check emails on vacation, and feel guilty when they stop.
The difference is not the quantity, it's the compulsiveness: the inability to stop, and the discomfort that appears when you try.
The signals
- Thinking about work even when you're not working, unable to shift your attention
- Anxiety or irritability when forced to stop: weekends, holidays, illness
- Bringing work everywhere, even where it's not needed
- Progressively taking time away from relationships, sleep, health
- Feeling of guilt during moments of rest
- Increasing the workload over time: what used to be enough is no longer enough
- Difficulty delegating, the belief that nothing works without you
- Using work to avoid thinking about anything else
The most reliable signal is the second-to-last group: what happens when you stop. If stopping produces unease instead of relief, you're not resting — you're suspending.
Workaholism and burnout are not the same thing
They are often confused, and the distinction is useful because they require different responses.
The burnout is a state of exhaustion: resources are depleted, cynical detachment sets in, the sense of efficacy declines. It is the consequence of an excessive workload sustained over time.
The workaholism is a mode of functioning: the drive to work compulsively, often accompanied by energy and engagement, at least at the beginning.
The connection between the two is that the first often leads to the second. Those who can't stop consume without replenishing, and sooner or later the bill comes due. Many cases of burnout, looking back, begin with a work addiction that was never recognized — because it was socially rewarded.
Why it's so hard to recognize
Because it's the only addiction that gets compliments.
No one congratulates someone who drinks too much. Someone who answers emails at midnight, however, is described as reliable, dedicated, a serious professional. The social reinforcement is constant, and it makes the behavior invisible to the person acting it out.
Then there's a second, more personal reason: work works. It fills you up, gives measurable results, gives back a sense of worth. It's often the place where you feel most competent — and therefore the place to take refuge when you don't feel that way elsewhere.
What's underneath
In my clinical experience, certain themes tend to recur.
Value tied to performance. "I'm worth what I produce." Stopping means losing the proof of one's worth, and so it becomes unsustainable.
Avoidance. Work fills a space where something else would otherwise appear: a marriage that isn't working, a grief that hasn't been processed, a question about meaning that one doesn't want to answer.
Control. Work is the territory where the rules are clear and effort produces results. Relationships aren't. Those who fear unpredictability tend to invest where the return is more predictable.
The consequences
On the body: sleep disorders, chronic tension, gastrointestinal problems, cardiovascular problems in the long run.
On the mind: anxiety, difficulty concentrating, irritability, depressive symptoms.
On relationships: this is often the area that pays the price first, and silently. People stop asking before you even notice you've drifted away.
On the work itself: this is the final paradox. Beyond a certain threshold, quality drops, errors increase, creativity diminishes. You work more and produce worse.
What helps
Recognizing the right signal. Don't count the hours: observe what you feel when you stop. That's where the difference between commitment and dependency becomes visible.
Establishing verifiable boundaries. A time beyond which you don't respond, a day without email. Vague intentions to “work less” don't work; a concrete rule does.
Tolerating the initial void. The first few times you stop, relief doesn't come but restlessness does. This is expected, and it's the moment when almost everyone goes back to work.
Rebuilding something outside. If work is the only source of identity and gratification, removing it leaves an unbearable void. What will fill it must be built first.
Looking at what you're avoiding. This is the real therapeutic work, and it's what makes change lasting instead of temporary.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many hours do you need to work to be a workaholic?
There is no threshold. The criterion is compulsiveness and distress when you stop, not the number of hours.
Is it a recognized addiction?
It is not a formal diagnosis in the major manuals, but it is widely studied and presents the typical characteristics of behavioral addictions: tolerance, withdrawal, loss of control, negative consequences.
If I love my job, am I a workaholic?
No, and the difference is clear. Those who love their job are still able to disconnect and enjoy other things. Addiction takes away the possibility of choosing.
How do I tell a loved one?
By talking about the concrete effects you see — absences, tiredness, missed moments — instead of accusing. Those caught in this pattern react badly to labels and better to facts.
Is it enough to take a vacation?
Almost never. Vacations provide temporary relief and are often experienced poorly precisely by those who need them most. The change concerns how one functions, not the calendar.
A journey in Florence or online
If you recognize yourself in this pattern, you can contact me for an initial introductory session. I receive in my office in Florence, at Via Tommaso Campanella 5, in the Campo di Marte – Coverciano area, and online.
You can also find work burnout and work stress.
Rallentare è più difficile di quanto sembri quando il lavoro regge l’autostima: percorso per lo stress da lavoro a Firenze.
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