newsminer.com

When I think about the speed of change and how we in Fairbanks deal with it, I’m reminded of the bullfrog sitting on a lily pad in the middle of a pond. The bullfrog basks in the view of majestic mountains and enjoys the abundance of succulent mosquitoes that nourish his robust froggie body as he regularly enjoys a refreshing splash. One day the bullfrog wakes up and the pond has changed. Suddenly there are two lily pads. The bullfrog takes it upon himself to spend 10 hours per day, six days a week jumping from one lily pad to the other.

Soon the number of lily pads doubles again. So the bullfrog first hires one toad and then another whom he teaches to jump the lily pads. Bullfrogs from other ponds watch them and hold them up as examples of how to get ahead. To them the frogaholic bullfrog and his toads are to be admired and emulated. In turn, the frogaholics themselves brag about their workaholic jumping, holding the condition up as if it a badge of honor.

When the number of lily pads doubles again, our nearly exhausted bullfrog and his toads hire more junior frogs to help them jump, teaching them through corporate pond culture that those extra long hours of compulsive lily pad jumping is what it takes to become a successful bullfrog. More time passes and almost half the pond becomes covered by lily pads. The bullfrog, toads and frogs are jumping around like cricket frogs having completely forgotten that their reason to be in the pond is to enjoy the Alaskan scenery, breath the clean air, splash in the water, and to live long and prosper on mosquitoes. Frantic lily jumping has become a compulsion. Even worse — other community bullfrogs are pushing their toads to become frogaholics.

When the pond is covered in lily pads, all the frogs get stressed out and die.

There is an old Aleut saying that one of my students shared with me Wednesday. She said that her grandmother would say, “You’re no good to us dead.”

Isn’t it curious that we live in a society that frowns on its people being addicted to alcohol, drugs, porn, gambling and all the other “aholics,” yet we often push ourselves to be workaholics and then brag about it? We think that workaholics are more productive. But with fatigue comes mistakes. Productivity is a result of visionary planning coupled with efficient action.

There’s another myth floating around Fairbanks’ frog ponds that “nobody ever died of hard work.” Many people are dying of overwork and work stress. Consider Japan, where men between the ages of 40-52 are dying from a disease dubbed Karoshi which translates to “death from overwork.” A study found Karoshi victims were working 13 hour days six days per week for a two-year period. Doctors attribute the deaths to the amount of adrenaline workaholics produce which then constricts blood vessels and raises blood pressure.

Now, one would think high blood pressure can be managed with stress reduction techniques and drugs. But such reduction in the stress feeling encourages harder, longer work which then increases the vicious cycle. Yesterday, my administrative assistant asked me why my hands were trembling more than their normal 3.5 quake? All I could say to her was “ribbit.”

We should all receive joy in our accomplishments of self and others. Yet, we must maintain a equilibrium in life and ensure a balance of work, love and play or we will end up like the poor frogs and toads in our ever changing ponds. Have you visited the ice carvings yet? Gone to a play or concert recently? When was the last time you put on your boots and took your honey for a walk?

Being a workaholic is “an addiction to incessant internal and/or external activity with the belief that if I were not active, I would have no right to exist.” Workaholism is not just practiced at work, and you don’t have to be employed to be a workaholic. It is not a badge of honor. It is a serious addiction that needs immediate treatment. Workaholism is not even a new phenomenon created by our hyperactive 21st century lily pads. The phrase “all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy” comes from a proverb first recorded in 2400 B.C by the Egyptian sage Ptahhotep. It means that without time off from working, a person becomes bored and boring. It also means that bullfrogs (bosses), and toads (employees), who don’t get their lives in balance are going to croak sooner rather than later.