The now commonplace term workaholism was coined by Wayne Oates, an American minister and psychologist, in 1968. In that year he wrote a humorous and insightful confession in an article entitled “On Being a ‘Workaholic’ (A Serious Jest)” in Pastoral Psychology. Comparing himself to an alcoholic, Oates says that he started with “social” working, boasting about how much work he could “hold” and how he could work others “under the table.” But then it progressed to a true addiction. He was hooked.

Drawing on his own experience, Oates describes the progression. Workaholics “pass out” (become emotionally dead) either on the job or at home, usually the latter. Whereas formerly they attained social approval for working addictively, now they are besieged by well-meaning advice to slow down, though friends and family expect them to be too busy to attend to them. If they try to slow down, they suffer “withdrawal symptoms” and fight a terrible battle when they leave the office, factory or church, resolving it by taking some work home or by doing a “weekend binge” of work. Christmas, other holidays and family vacations are terrifying experiences, and workaholics can only tolerate them by taking work with them.

Workaholics dread thinking about retirement, and when they finally retire, they may die prematurely. Work is their love, and they may even feed this love by planning another report or sermon while making love to their spouse! In this seminal article Oates recognizes that the problem is profoundly theological and spiritual: the workaholic has made an idol of work. Salvation depends on work: “Far from thinking of God as someone who loves us whether we produce or not, this is unthinkable to workaholics. Acceptance is pay for work done” (Oates 1968, p. 17).

Since Oates’s initial contribution, an extensive study has been undertaken by Barbara Killinger of what she calls the “respectable addicts.” A workaholic is “a person who gradually becomes emotionally crippled and addicted to control and power in a compulsive drive to gain approval and success” (Killinger, p. 6). She describes the typical workaholic family of origin: one is born in a home where love is conditional on good performance and behavior. Instead of communicating the value of a child for who he or she is, parents in such homes communicate only the value of the child’s accomplishments. Thus the child does not learn to separate doing and being, performance from personhood. Instead of hearing, “The grass you cut looks terrific; you must be proud of yourself!” they hear, “You did a great job cutting the grass; you are a good boy” (Killinger, p. 21). In the words of Killinger, “conditional love teaches a child to be dependent on others for approval; unconditional love encourages independent appraisal, objectivity, and self-affirmation in deserved pride” (p. 22). Many children raised in such environments become chronically overinvolved with work, usually as a way of avoiding anxiety or emotional pain.

Workaholism is the condition of persons whose self-worth is linked to what they do rather than who they are. The result of this orientation is that work moves from being an other-centered to a self-centered activity, defining every aspect of their existence. Workaholics do not work because they have a desire to be gainfully employed; they work to prove something to themselves. Though they keep trying by working harder, working better or trying to find the perfect job, they can never do enough to give full meaning to their lives.