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IT Workaholics |
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Written by Nick Kotarski
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Sunday, 10 April 2005 |
Confessions of IT workaholics: All work is hazardous to health and home life
IT professionals who describe themselves as workaholics often share these characteristics:
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Typical workday: 15 hours
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Marital status: Divorced, marriage in jeopardy, or unattached
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Friends/hobbies: None
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Holidays/weekends: Used as opportunities for working additional hours
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Vacations: Taken once in three years with a pager and laptop
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Eating habits: Meals are skipped or eaten next to a keyboard.
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Sleep: "All-nighters" occur frequently.
Nearly 100 TechRepublic members have written us to explain how working
excessive hours has damaged their health and their personal lives. Many
of the "workaholics" admit that they voluntarily work too much because
they either feel responsible or they are hoping the extra hours will
result in career advancement. Roughly an equal number of members told
us they work too much because their employers require an unreasonable
workload.
Here are some of the e-mails we received after inviting members to
share their stories in a recent article, "What have you sacrificed for
your job?"
Humor helps some workaholics cope
The e-mails we received expressed a wide range of emotion—some people
were bitter, others were depressed, and a few were sarcastic. Usually,
IT pros who described a past situation reminisced with at least some
humor.
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Larry G. Weismantel, an analyst/designer in Waverly, IA, said he shaved
his head and grew a beard so that it would only take 10 minutes for him
to get ready for work in the morning.
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Carla Field, an MIS manager in Longmont, CO, said while working for a former employer, she slept in her car and in her office.
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Charley McGee, an IT specialist with Payment Online, Inc., in Seattle,
said when he works all night, he takes a shower at the health club
across the street from his office so that he doesn't have to go home.
"Sometimes the security guards look at me funny," McGee wrote.
When overworking leads to a tragic loss
Several letters we received were heartbreaking. Stuart Peacock of
Essex, Great Britain, said a former coworker of his worked an entire
weekend without sleep to complete a project. While driving home, he
fell asleep at the wheel, his car hit a tree, and he was killed.
"The company, I have to say, acted admirably as a consequence. It
issued a policy stating that the culture had compelled this person to
do what he did...and that no one should feel any pressure to work like
this in the future," wrote Peacock.
Robert Barbere, team leader for Web development, was one of several IT
pros who said their demanding job had cost them their marriage:
"After working 65 to 80 hours continually for more than nine
months...my wife finally decided to call it quits on our marriage. She
said because I am at work so much, she felt like a single mom of two
kids...I miss her."
Sam Deakins, Information Systems team leader, was working around the
clock to complete the merging of two ERP systems when he learned that
his father was gravely ill. Deakins expressed remorse when he wrote
that he continued working through a critical phase of the project and
even missed his father's funeral.
Missing out on the good times
Sgtski123 works two jobs and hasn't had a vacation in five years.
Holidays, weekends, vacations, children's birthday parties—none of
these events is immune to the intrusion from work when you are an IT
pro who is a workaholic.
Here are a few other examples that typify the letters we received.
Brian O'Connor, mid range systems manager, kept working even while his wife was giving birth to their first child:
"At one point I was kneeling in front of the chair she was on, left
hand holding hers, giving encouragement...unfortunately, my right hand
was replying to some e-mail from work!!" wrote O'Connor.
Steve missed his honeymoon:
"On our wedding night one of the UPS systems crashed, and moments later
the power went out...My wife went to the Bahamas with Amy, her best
friend. They had a blast, and I waded through honeymoon pictures of my
wife and Amy in our photo album," wrote Steve.
Steve's marriage ended with an amicable divorce, but he said he doesn't have much time to see his ex-wife.
Richard Lawless is chief technology officer of Vastech Inc., a think
tank in the Midwest. He feels compelled to work because he's a founding
officer in the corporation.
"I missed my daughter's birthday in August because I had to work
here...Then I missed trick-or-treating in October and had promised to
take my son and daughter around the neighborhood, but alas—had to
work," wrote Lawless.
Sleep and sickness are not in the schedule
Many IT pros told us that they often pull "all-nighters," or they
routinely sleep only a few hours each night. Among the horror stories
that are typical:
- Paul Taube, of Dallas, said he's been working 100 hours a week and sleeps just four hours a night to keep a project on track.
- Mike Hammontre, an engineer with Qwest Information Technology in Denver, once worked for three days without sleep.
Illness doesn't slow down workaholics either. Several IT pros told us
they worked despite serious illnesses. The most dramatic example was
from Alex Carson. He worked while he was in the hospital recovering
from a liver transplant.
"I was on the phone to the office helping someone with a printing
problem. While I was recovering at home for the next 10 weeks, I made
similar calls to the office," said Carson.
Enough is enough
What is especially aggravating to many IT pros is that their employers
often expect them to make tremendous personal sacrifices and then often
don't reward them for what they've done.
IT pros might be especially prone to this problem if they are the only
person in the IT department or if their department consists of just a
few people. If there is a crisis that involves the entire company or
several departments, all employees might be asked to pitch in. But as
an IT worker, your dedication may go unappreciated if you are the only
person who spent the night on the floor over the weekend.
"I thought I was giving myself an edge in the office, but I realize now
I was just making myself into a doormat," wrote a 37-year-old woman who
now works as a computer lab consultant.
Yet in some cases, getting burned by an uncaring employer or making an
outrageous personal sacrifice has helped reform IT professionals who
work too much. Just like an alcoholic who needs to reach rock bottom
before asking for help, some workaholics say they realigned their
priorities only after a shocking experience.
"I have often wondered what it is that drives IT professionals to have
a nonstop attitude...My marriage was nearly the cost [that I paid]. I
had to seriously stop and evaluate what was important in my life—my
marriage or my job...I'm not working at [my former employer] anymore,"
wrote Rob McDowell.
Most of the people who are included in this report have told us that
they have taken new, less-demanding jobs because they wanted a personal
life. But not everyone shared that sentiment. Remember Alex Carson who
worked from the hospital after receiving a new liver? He said he
hurried back to the office within just two months of his transplant.
"I couldn't stand not being there...as if they couldn't exist without me," Carson wrote.
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