Burnout is very prevalent in the medical field. I have coached many physicians that feel burned-out. When I ask them what they think the cause is, 100% tell me it is due to something about their work. No one ever mentions their workaholic tendencies as being a contributing factor. Yet when we begin discussing the details, it becomes clear that many of them are workaholics.
People in the medical field are usually very driven. They are high producers, perfectionists, and overachievers. These are also the traits of people who become workaholics. So how does one distinguish if the problem stems from their job, themselves, or a combination of the two?
The good news is that everything originating in themselves are under their own control and are easily fixable. Most issues pertaining to their job are also fixable, but some issues are out of our control. It is very important to identify the things that are under our control to fix. If you never reach the point of understanding what portion is in your control, you will never be able to improve your situation.
(Come join me at White Coat Investor’s 2026 Physician Wellness & Financial Literacy Conference, March 25-28, 2026 in Las Vegas, NV. I’ll be speaking on “Enough,” a topic many physicians ignore, especially workaholics.)
Let’s take a look at some of the common problems in medicine that stem from being a workaholic, so we can identify places to improve, and then discuss how to resolve the problems.
Self-reflection
Most of us workaholics do not see the problem, even when it is pointed out. Ask yourself if a family member has ever told you that you work too much. When they made the comment, did you do anything to decrease your work hours, or did you just tell them they don’t know what they are talking about.
My wife once told me I was working way too much. Not just as a surgeon, but also outside of medicine in things I volunteered to do. I told her I was not overworked. She challenged me to write down all my responsibilities. So, I thought I would prove her wrong and started writing. Besides being a surgeon, I was the president of this, the treasurer of that, the chairman of this committee and the representative in that one, and the list went on. When I finished the list, I looked at my wife and said, “I am doing too much.”
Another example of overworking appeared when one of the residents I supervised, who took call every other day, told me to call him if something good comes in on his evenings off and he would come right in to do those juicy cases. As the old saying goes, being on call every other day means you miss half of the good cases. I told him that was a bad idea. He already worked too many hours, and he should take the nights he is off to do something fun, or go to bed early and catch up on his sleep.
He actually blew up at me. Who was I to tell him he shouldn’t come in to do a great case on his day off. If he wants to work on his day off, that was his business. He was a workaholic who refused to acknowledge the fact or change his ways. Unfortunately, he died by suicide a few years after that conversation. I wasn’t close to him at that time so don’t know what drove him to suicide, but I bet being a workaholic was a contributing factor.
If someone tells you that you need to cut back, you are working too hard, please believe them. They can see it better than you can.
Working on vacation
I’ve written a lot of articles about how doctors blow their vacation time. Vacation, by definition, is a time of not working. It is a time to recover from the hard work we all do. Not taking time to recharge is one of the chief causes of burnout.
When we are on vacation, it should always be a no work zone. No checking work emails, no calling to check up on patients, no patients calling you because you are “always available,” no refilling prescriptions, no signing into the medical records program to catch up, no continuing education, and no conferences.
I meet doctors all the time who have never been on a vacation that was not part of a CME event. If you are attending a conference, you are not on vacation. If you never take vacation time to recharge, don’t blame the job as the cause of your burnout.
I often tell these doctors that I want them to book a true vacation within the week. Pick a place they wish to go and get it booked. No CME is allowed. These people often have a very hard time following through with this assignment. It’s something they have never done before.
We are all given a vacation allotment when we get hired. That is because we all NEED vacation time to recharge. Don’t skip it or waste it. Take the vacations you are allotted and some extra ones if you can get them. You almost always can take extra unpaid time off.
Working when you should be off
In a career that is ranked high in burnout, no physician should ever be moonlighting or doing locums on their weekend off. It is remarkable how many times I hear doctors speak about wanting to have more time off, or that they are working too many hours, only to find they have chosen to work extra hours.
When your job gives you the weekend off, you should be spending that recovering from the weekly stresses of your job. Not volunteering to work a few more hours to increase your pay. Frankly, no physician needs to boost their pay with extra work.
When I was a resident I was offered $100 an hour to moonlight in the emergency department on my days off. I was already working 110 hours a week and on call every other day and every other weekend.
I came home so excited to tell my wife about my $100 an hour offer. This was quite a jump from the $3 an hour I had calculated my salary was equivalent to. She was not impressed.
She asked me if we were hurting for money. We were not. We were only living on half of our income and saving the rest, even in residency. She then asked me if I was currently home enough. With a 110 hour work week, I certainly was not home enough. Then she summed it up.
“Why would you use hours you don’t have
to earn money we don’t need?”
I had never thought of it that way. We had enough. I didn’t need to kill myself to earn more. She was right and I decided to never do any moonlighting.
No physician earns so little that they need to work extra hours to boost their income. Stop kidding yourself with the thought that more income will make you happier. It will not. More free time though, will make you happier.
No hobbies
If you don’t have any hobbies, that is a huge red flag that you are likely a workaholic. People with no hobbies often think that hobbies are a waste of time. They are not productive. You can’t make a living with a hobby. There’s no money in it.
But hobbies are not about being productive, they are about getting recharged. We have hobbies to take our mind off work and do something we enjoy. Our brain needs a break. Gardening, woodworking, cycling, pickleball, piano, and photography can all relieve stress.
If you don’t have a hobby, what do you do to let off steam? Likely, you work too much and don’t bother with relief. In this case, you are the culprit leading to burnout, your job is not the only factor.
What to do about it
Here are a few suggestions for reclaiming your life if you are succumbing to your workaholic tendencies.
1: Plan some real time off with your family.
You need time during the day for a break. Take an actual lunch break. You need days during the week when you are not working. Take the weekend off and don’t schedule a moonlighting job just so you can make another $6,000. You will be just fine financially without that extra income. Schedule a real vacation that will not involve any work, CME, checking email, talking to patients…
I’ve written articles about how physicians blow their vacations. In one I stated we should never take a nanny on a vacation with us. The physicians who take their nanny on vacation with them were mad at this comment and they let me know about it. But a common complaint from physicians is not having enough time to spend with their family. So now they go on vacation, to get away from work and spend time with their family, but instead of spending time with their kids the nanny watches the kids just like at home while they are at work.
What message does this send to their kids? The kids already know that work takes precedence over spending time with them. But now, while on vacation, the kids are still not a priority. It seems it isn’t the physician’s job keeping them from spending time with their kids, and now the kids know that as well.
Use vacation time to fully immerse yourself in your family. That is a big part of why you get vacation time.
2: Make time off a no work zone.
When you are off work, be off work. Go home and enjoy your family. Maybe even turn off your phone. There is a great line at the end of a James Bond movie where James tells M he is going on that vacation she promised he could have at the end of the assignment. She asked him where he was going. He told her, “If I told you that, it wouldn’t be a vacation.”
3: Never Moonlight.
If you think you need to earn more money, you definitely need to be at my lecture on “Enough” at the March White Coat Investor Conference. Physicians earn a very nice income, even the lower earning specialties. You have enough money. You need more free time. Time is more valuable than money.
Stop the madness of thinking you need to be financially independent to live the life you want. You earn enough money to live life on your terms right now. Start living it. Don’t wait for financial independence, or retirement, or when the kids get out of college… Live a great life now, not someday.
4: No physician needs a side gig.
There is a lot of buzz about physicians needing a side gig to create alternative streams of income. But side gigs take up time that you should be spending with your family. The only reason to develop a side gig is because you love doing what that side gig does. Never start a side gig for more income.
If you love playing music, there is nothing wrong with playing on a Saturday night at a restaurant. Music is a great hobby to let off steam and recover. Don’t do it because you want to earn more money. Do it because you love it.
I hope you will look closely at your work life and your home life and make sure they are in balance. What can you do to improve your life at home? What can you do to improve your life at work? How could you put in less hours working? If you ever complain about not having enough family time, NEVER moonlight, as the money will not help you spend more time with your family. Lots of money is not your goal, a great life is your goal. You can have a career and a great life if you improve on the things you can actually control.
Pick up a copy of my book The Doctors Guide to Finding Joy in Your Work and see how many things you can change that will bring joy to your life. You have much more control than you imagine.
Let’s make the new year the year of the new you.