How I realized I've been work addicted all this time

How many of you started working longer hours after switching to remote work? I’ve been working remotely for over 5 years now and I’ve been putting in lots of effort to become even more effective and efficient all this time. Recently I got feedback from my manager that I need to...

How I realized I've been work addicted all this time

So recently I got feedback from my manager that I need to learn to detach from the team and the product and not try so hard. My first reaction to this kind of feedback was an intention to quit. Just quit and move on, find a team that will need my hard work, my attachment, and passion. But this time I decided to step aside and calm down before I take any action. So I started researching and analizing the words of my manager.

Later that week I stumbled upon a curious statement - an article by an office worked who's gone remote during the pandemic. He was saying that WFH is full of distractions that lead to low productivity which in its turn leads to self-punishment by overworking. I think this is my case.

I have to confess now, I feel like I’m not productive enough, like I’m not using my full potential and capacity to do the work that I do and I punish myself for this by overworking and putting in extra hours without logging them. I used to log all of them but then it wasn't welcomed by the company that I worked for so I continued overworking but just didn't log all the hours.

I must say this is not a healthy habit. I've been thinking that it is because of some external factors that keep me distracted but now I think it is all in my head and I think I'm addicted, addicted to work, I'm a workaholic. This has started affecting my personal life, my family, and my health and now the work itself. I'm thinking of ways to resolve this and meanwhile I want to share this article with you

It talks about the risk of work addiction and the factors that it depends on in different demographics. People with higher work addiction risk compared to people with low work addiction risk have twice the risk of developing depression and poorer sleep quality which in its turn affects the overall health. Please be safe and take care of yourself and the people around you!