In the U.S., people are working non-stop. A person who compulsively works hard and long hours fits perfectly into the personalities of many people. It is also the definition of a workaholic.

     “Nearly half of employed Americans (48 percent) consider themselves modern day ‘workaholics’ according to new research,” reported Nypost.com. These people don’t just grow up and become overworking adults; instead, they are pushed by schools, parents, and their communities around them to overwork themselves.

     Oftentimes, a workaholic is someone who doesn’t take a break from their work and doesn’t know how to separate work life from personal/home life. “Most researchers define a workaholic as a person who works excessively and compulsively and is unable to detach from work,” wrote Forbes.com This sounds pretty familiar, because as students, they aren’t taught how to separate school work from home life. Instead, high schoolers go to school for seven straight hours per day, just like an average work day. But then after that long day of school students must go home and do hours of homework. 

     As student’s school work and  personal life blend together or grades will slip because they don’t get to finish their homework. After years of doing this, adults can’t break the habit of blending work and personal life together. This results in a negative effect on personal lives, physical, and mental health.

     A workaholic works so much that their work takes up time for doing things that keep them healthy such as sleep, eating, and downtime. That same thing often happens in students as well. Students can end up staying up super late doing homework, taking away from time they should be sleeping. “Around 20 percent of students pull all-nighters at least once a month, and about 35 percent stay up past three in the morning once or more weekly,” reported med.upenn.edu. In the end, this isn’t beneficial because lack of sleep harms their ability to learn.

     To a workaholic, the main priority is work. This results in lack of effort in personal relationships, which causes them harm. It also causes harm to the physical self. When people prioritize work over health, it results in many illnesses and not being healthy. It also harms mental health, resulting in burnout and mental health illness. 

     In the end, a big reason overworking is becoming an issue is due to it starting in school. School systems show students that constantly working and not making time for themselves, their families, and their health is okay. Schools need to take a step back and look at if giving homework every night is truly going to help students in the long run.