You have made it your life’s work to study overwork and its effects on people and organizations. Why is this topic so important to you?
It’s something I’ve struggled with myself. For as long as I can remember, I have felt an inner pressure to always be busy doing something. When I was younger, that meant signing up for all kinds of clubs and sports while still getting straight A’s. It wasn’t due to pressure from my parents; it was just me. I’ve always felt like I had to prove myself and really struggled with being idle.
By the time I made it to grad school, I stumbled across the concept of workaholism and I thought, ‘Wow, I could actually study this phenomenon and understand it better.’ That’s why I call my work ‘me-search’ instead of research. I think a lot of psychology researchers gravitate to things that they personally struggle with or that they’ve seen loved ones deal with. So I started researching how external factors can exacerbate workaholism and how it impacts people beyond just the person who is overworking.
