Work Addiction is Real. Here’s Why You Can’t Unplug.

Hello!

It’s Thursday, 27^th February 2025. Welcome back to Bold Efforts, where we explore the shifting landscape of work, productivity, and the future of how we engage with our professional lives. Two weeks ago, I wrote about the identity crisis of job titles and how careers today resemble a game of skill tetris a dynamic, constantly evolving mix of abilities and roles. Today’s issue takes that a step further.

Because once you’ve stacked your skills, once you’ve optimized your career for maximum efficiency, what happens when you can’t stop? What happens when work itself becomes an addiction? But can work really be addictive? Or is that just an overused metaphor for dedication? And if it is, what does that say about us about the way we structure our lives, our ambitions, and even our self worth?

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Key Idea: Work Addiction

Work can be a drug.

You don’t clock in. You don’t clock out. You just keep going, chasing one more email, one more win, one more dopamine hit disguised as an achievement. Until suddenly, it’s midnight. You should be sleeping, but your brain is still at the office, turning over an unsolved problem like an addict craving another fix.

Why does this happen? Why do some people struggle to unplug while others shut their laptops at five and forget work exists?

It turns out, the answer lies deep inside your brain.

The Dopamine Trap

Dopamine is the currency of motivation. It’s what keeps you coming back for more. Every time you close a deal, finish a task, or get a Slack notification with a tiny burst of praise, your brain rewards you. Just a little. But enough to make you want to do it again.

Unlike physical exertion, where your body tells you when to stop, knowledge work has no hard limits. There’s always another email, another deadline, another problem to solve. Your brain, wired for survival in an ancient world of scarcity, can’t tell the difference between essential effort and self imposed overwork. It just chases the next hit.

Over time, this rewires your reward system. Tasks that once felt optional become necessary. The idea of not working starts to feel unnatural, even stressful.

But here’s a question: If we know this, why do we still fall into the trap? Why do we willingly tether ourselves to work, even when we know it’s eroding our focus, our relationships, and our well being?

The Illusion of Control

There’s another layer to this. Work isn’t just about achievement; it’s about control.

When life feels chaotic, work offers structure. A predictable input output equation in an unpredictable world. It’s why some of the most obsessive workers aren’t driven by money or status, but by a deep seated need to impose order. The spreadsheet, the meeting, the endless checklist it all provides a sense of control, even when everything else is spiraling.

But here’s the kicker: this control is an illusion. The longer you stay plugged in, the more your mental bandwidth shrinks. Deep work becomes shallow work. Decisions become reactive. Creativity dies. And before you know it, you’re not controlling work work is controlling you.

So where’s the line? When does structure become shackles? And if work is an addiction, do we ever truly want to recover?

The Burnout Cycle

Work addiction isn’t just a habit; it’s a cycle. The more you work, the less effective you become. The less effective you become, the harder you work to compensate. It’s a slow, insidious spiral that feels productive until you hit a wall.

Burnout doesn’t announce itself with a dramatic collapse. It creeps in through brain fog, through irritability, through the feeling that no matter how much you do, it’s never enough. Your energy levels crash. Your problem solving abilities decline. You start making poor decisions. And yet, even then, stopping feels impossible.

Part of this is neurological, but part of it is cultural. We glorify busyness. We reward overwork. We tie productivity to self worth. The person who stays late gets praised, even if they’re just spinning their wheels. The person who disconnects on time is seen as less committed, even if they’re actually producing better work.

And yet, we need work. It provides purpose, identity, a way to engage with the world. So is the answer simply doing less? Or do we need to rethink our entire relationship with work itself?

So, How Do You Break Free?

The answer isn’t balance. Balance implies a neat division, as if you can put work in one box and life in another. That’s not how the brain works.

Instead, think of it like a circuit breaker. You need forced disconnection. Not passive, but aggressive.

Block email after 7 PM. Create hard stops. Give your brain withdrawal time so it can recalibrate.

Most importantly, learn to sit with stillness. That feeling of discomfort when you’re not working? That’s your nervous system rewiring itself. Let it. Because the real work, the kind that matters happens when your mind has space to wander.

Your best ideas won’t come when you’re drowning in tasks. They’ll come when you’re walking, resting, or doing absolutely nothing at all.

But here’s the real question: If we weren’t working all the time, who would we be? And are we ready to find out?

Until next week,
Kartik

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Who am I?
I’m Kartik, founder of Polynomial Studio, a holding company and product studio building AI-driven businesses for the future of work. The way we work and live is being rewritten. AI, remote work, and shifting economic forces are reshaping careers, businesses, and entire industries. The big question is where it’s all heading.

For the past eight years, I’ve been at the forefront of these shifts, working across real estate, technology, startups, and corporate strategy. I’ve helped businesses navigate change and stay ahead of what’s next, always focused on understanding the forces shaping our future and how we can use them to build something better. Click here to know more about me.

Why Bold Efforts?
I started Bold Efforts because I believe work should fit into life, not the other way around. Too many people are stuck in outdated systems that don’t serve them. This newsletter is about challenging the status quo and making the effort to design work around life. It brings together bold ideas and actionable insights to help you build a healthier, more balanced relationship with work, leading to greater purpose and fulfillment. If you’re looking for fresh perspectives on how to work and live better, you’re in the right place.

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