What is “white collar” addiction?
White collar addiction is another way of saying a workaholic — someone with an unhealthy obsession with working. A white collar addiction can be caused by an obsessive personality, but can also be triggered by a desire for mobility in the workplace.
White collar addiction has the unfortunate side effects of a decreased work-life balance, including spending less time with family and friends or on previously enjoyed hobbies. The addiction is hard to shake even when on vacation, which is why these workaholics will often bring mobile devices or laptops that will allow them to check email and work remotely, even when on vacation.
Physicians, attorneys, and many other professionals may become so obsessively and compulsively over involved with their work and activities that support their work, that they no longer enjoy a balanced life. Unfortunately modern society often encourages the hard working, dedicated, self-sacrificing, unbalanced professional so that symptoms such as escaping personal problems and family responsibilities, and physical and spiritual health are overlooked. Symptoms such as working too hard and too long, not taking vacations to recuperate, relax, and focus on the family, drinking too much, smoking too much, eating too much, and becoming overly involved in sporting or social activities may not be easily recognized as addictive in a society that often misconstrues these activities as strengths, but these behaviors take a devastating toll on these professionals, their health, their overall happiness, and their families. Such addictive traits are best addressed in psychotherapy. How do I know wh
