Hard At Work? Learn To Distinguish Between High Performance And Workaholism

High performance and workaholism may look the same but for some subtle differences ranging from how a person would feel while performing the tasks to the prioritizing parts of the work and the final results.

Jullien Gordon, the Founding Partner at New Higher, a high performance consultancy, starts with a confession of being “a recovering workaholic”.

After spending an year in reading, researching, and conducting experiments on himself to understand the difference between high performers and workaholics, he says there are healthier ways for people to work without sacrificing their values or the people they value.

High performance and workaholism both look like hard work. The difference lies in working hard in healthy sustainable ways, feeling happy and inspired in the first case compared to just the opposite resulting in a feeling unhappy and burnt out.

The high performer’s number one goal being doing business, the only thing that matters are results. If they cannot achieve it, they facilitate or frame a strategy to get around problems. Getting ready during the downswings in business they are able to capitalize when things look up.

However, a workaholic’s number 1 goal is to be busy. They tend to remain busy at work because they feel insecure and without value if they remain idle. This insecurity keeps them busy even during the slack season which could ideally be used to relax and recharge the faculties.

While a high performer, having set clear goals seek to achieve more in areas that matter workaholics seek to try and maximise everything because they do not have clarity about goals or success.

A high performer is capable of giving 100% at the right time while the workaholic is under the impression that they have to give 110% all the time, thus ending up burnt out and frustrated.

A high performer knows their self-worth and can thus work with a sense a freedom. This comes from periodic self-evaluation of their performance so that they could constantly improve. A workaholic relies on external validation from the boss, colleagues and clients, coming under pressure and fear.

High performers remain proactive about their time and work, trying to complete the most important tasks first before tackling unplanned events and fire fighting operations. The workaholic is reactive, allowing other people to choose how their time gets spent. Thus, they find themselves working all day replying to emails, unplanned events and other distractions.

The focus of a high performer is on their effort—inputs and outputs. They judge themselves against their best self as opposed to others.

ALSO READ: How To Reduce ‘Techno-Stress’ At Workplace? INSEAD Study Seeks Answers

“A workaholic focuses on the outcome and their income. Even when we think we do our best, the outcome that occurs and the income that is derived from it is not fully in our control. Their desire to compare leads them to judge themselves using common metrics of success which aren’t always directly correlated to effort,” says Gordon.

High performer puts themselves first because they know that by doing so, it allows them to serve others at a higher level. At times it appears to be selfish, but it’s actually selfless because they want to give first-class service to those they work with and for.

A workaholic puts others before themselves. While appearing to be selfless, it is not sustainable. “When we constantly give more than we have and never take time to replenish our source, we end up depleted. This behaviour is also driven by the good intention of service, but the desire to be needed and be the hero counters that intention,” says Gordon.

At the end of the day, workaholics do work to look important while high performers look for important work to do. (Image Courtesy:  www.pecsma.hu)