Workism Is Making Americans Miserable

Some of it rang true and some of it I disagree with. I am a workaholic in my civilian profession. However, not all technical types of people want to be a CEO when they grow up. Some do, definitely but not all. Many engineers tend to be obsessive about their work and need constant reminders of other obligations at home. I am that type of person. He touched on it when he said a person’s identity can be wrapped up in their career. This is very true. I know plenty of people who “retire” from my career field that maintain some kind of retirement job and engineering society participation just to keep their brain working. This is because they can’t turn it off. This is the real issue. I cannot turn it off, ever. I have 4 weeks of vacation a year but never take more than 2 weeks at any one time and have a hard time using the rest. When on vacation I still end up doing some work. I cannot help myself. It is like I am a work junkie. My husband can disengage easier than I can. He is still a professional but not a technical person. Maybe that is the difference. I am not sure. I am not overly concerned about “helping others” in my civilian career. It is all about competence, being the best at what I do and leaving my mark in a technical way on my company and industry. It is about solving the problem (puzzle) and succeeding where other before me couldn’t. I am not miserable at work. I find it rewarding. For the “helping others stuff” I am a volunteer firefighter so I have that base covered.