Dr. Seema Parmar holds a PhD in International Public Health from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. She is a leader in Advisory Services at Cleveland Clinic Canada, a medical centre where physicians, wellness experts and management consultants help organizations improve employee health and manage organizational risk. Dr. Andrew Morgan, MD, FRCP(C) is a forensic psychiatrist who sees patients in his clinical practice and is part of the Advisory Services Team at Cleveland Clinic Canada.
For generations, we’ve looked to executives who burn the midnight oil and arrive early to work as successful leaders to emulate. These hard-working executives have traditionally been rewarded with significant raises, bonuses and even the corner office, by companies that view extra hours worked as a metric of commitment and drive.
However, as health professionals, we see downsides to the workaholic boss. While working excessively may seem like a win for their employers, it usually isn’t. When we dig into the psychology of what drives hard-charging executives, we see they derive significant satisfaction through work – they enjoy the achievement, positive feedback, recognition, promotions and, yes, money. But this situation is like a one-legged stool. While investing so much in fortifying one leg, the others – such as family, friends, community and health – receive less attention and become weak.
Furthermore, when an executive’s work-life balance tilts too much toward work, so does their team’s. When employees are consistently expected to work too hard, too often, at the expense of their families and well-being, they become burnt out or resentful. They may leave, with companies left to replace talent and rebuild institutional knowledge.
Identifying the workaholic
Executives can exhibit telltale signs of the corporate workhorse. They may micromanage and take on work themselves instead of properly delegating it. Not only does that fail to optimize the resources of the team, but it also impedes employee growth and loyalty to the company.
They model, encourage and may reward intense working models, affecting team and corporate culture. They send emails at all hours and expect others to work evenings and weekends. They set unrealistic team expectations, requiring employees to deprioritize the rest of their lives. They believe these trade-offs are necessary to become leaders. Eventually though, they may start breaking down themselves, exhibiting reduced efficiency, cynicism and exhaustion. Working harder does not solve their problems – it merely exacerbates them.
Meanwhile, families are neglected and suffer, as workaholics are not present physically, emotionally or intellectually. They miss their kids’ baseball games and family milestones, or make work calls and send emails when they do attend. In fact, spouses often report their families function better when the workaholic is not around.
After years of the executive focusing on work and little else, some workaholic executives start noticing the stool tipping. They willingly seek coaching or mental health support. Some burn out and recognize their performance declining. Others are let go because of performance issues, restructuring or downsizing and find themselves depressed, distressed, anxious or questioning their self-worth. Some face problems with their relationships or find themselves managing a severe health condition. And they often don’t have the tools to manage on their own.
Many executives, however, do not seek help and are good at hiding their struggles from their corporate boards and bosses. Colleagues may notice, but the executives themselves often won’t self-report or volunteer the information. We recommend routine 360-degree feedback along with other avenues of reporting such as team performance and exit interviews, which can expose changes in behaviour and issues that may otherwise go unrecognized.
Healing begins with visioning and values
We encourage executives to use the best possible self exercise, thinking 10 years into the future about their preferred work, family and leisure lives. For executives who see their current path leading them away from their preferred vision and future, we help them consciously shift their approach.
We encourage executives to put boundaries in place, protect time and truly be present in activities and with loved ones outside work. This means paying attention when with family or at social events rather than going through work emails or thinking about tomorrow’s meetings. It means finding time for hobbies, seeing friends and looking for ways to explore and develop outside of work. Enjoyment is an imperative. Workplace goals may come easily, but high-value goals in other life domains are just as important and deserve similar consideration.
We also discuss the executive’s personal values. While many executives can recite their company values, they may struggle to articulate their own values or how they live those values. These executives may also need help redefining the type of leader they want to be – valuing quality of work rather than hours worked, spending time coaching and building skills when employees have gaps and stepping back to let others take the lead when appropriate.
These types of self-reflection and change are difficult. Many executives do not do them, and most need support to identify their motivations, triggers and patterns toward workaholism. Supports can include psychiatrists, psychologists, leadership coaches, lifestyle coaches, couples counselling and therapists.
Supporting and helping workaholic executives evolve their approach to life and career takes time, but offers impressive business payback and personal growth. The company gets better leaders; employees remain and enjoy a better workplace culture where they feel valued and effective; and the executive may well achieve a better, more purposeful life.
This column is part of Globe Careers’ Leadership Lab series, where executives and experts share their views and advice about the world of work. Find all Leadership Lab stories at tgam.ca/leadershiplab and guidelines for how to contribute to the column here.