Episode 47
Chasing success, working long hours, doing far more than is required, and thinking about work constantly may not be ambition. It may be addiction.
In this episode, Arthur Brooks digs into what workaholism actually is, where it comes from, and why no amount of achievement ever seems to fill the gap it creates.
Key takeaways:
- Workaholism Has a Root: One of the most surprising and consequential drivers of work addiction is the belief that love must be earned through performance and achievement, a strategy that turns out to be both exhausting and ineffective.
- The Happiness Paradox of Success: The very behaviors that produce external success, overworking, constant striving, mental preoccupation with achievement, tend to erode the relationships, presence, and inner life that actually generate lasting happiness.
- Relationships Pay the Price: Workaholism does not just affect the individual. It quietly damages the closest relationships in a person’s life, often before they realize what is happening.
Office Hours shares science-based strategies for building a happier, more meaningful life. New episodes usually air every Monday.
