We live in a world where men are taught from childhood to be strong, successful, and above all, emotionally bulletproof. But what happens when that armor becomes a prison? According to psychology, there are telltale signs that reveal when men are using certain behaviors to mask deeper unhappiness. After diving into research and reflecting on patterns I've observed, here are eight behaviors that often signal something more is going on beneath the surface.
That word, for me, was workaholism and when I heard it through my headphones earlier this year, listening to an audiobook on the tube, I felt a pang of something between recognition and panic. It transported me back to the worst time in my life. In May 2016, when I was nearly five months pregnant, I travelled to rural Norway to make a short documentary for the Guardian.
Between teaching MBA students and speaking to a lot of business audiences, I'm often interacting with successful people who work extremely long hours. It's common for me to hear about 13-hour workdays and seven-day workweeks, with few or no vacations. What I see among many of those I encounter is workaholism, a pathology characterized by continuing to work during discretionary time, thinking about work all the time, and pursuing job tasks well beyond what's required to meet any need.