Nothing stresses out Lori Freeman like taking time off work.
The resident of Bridgewater, N.S., and self-described workaholic feels nervous just thinking about her coming summer vacation from her job at a nursing home.
She has accumulated so much holiday time that her employer has scheduled her to take every other week off for the months of July and August - and Ms. Freeman worries she'll go into withdrawal. She usually volunteers to work through her weekends and can't remember the last time she was away from her job for more than a day.
"When I think about having more than one day off, I kind of get a little edgy and just a little kind of agitated," she says. "Now, when summer's coming up, I'm going to hyperventilate because I think, 'What am I going to do for seven days? I can't be at work. I've got to do something.' "
While most people relish the thought of relaxing at a cottage, camping in the woods or spending time with their families, summer vacation is a workaholic's idea of hell. Cut off from the office with no fixed tasks to accomplish, many workaholics become restless and unable to cope. Some try to avoid taking holiday all together, while others struggle to pry themselves away from their laptops and mobile devices or make excuses to pop into work. But experts say there are ways to minimize the pain.
"It's always in the back of my mind: 'What's happening over there? Are things going okay? Did something happen?' " says Mohamed Bhimji, a manager at a Vancouver tech firm, explaining why he never goes on vacation without his laptop and cellphone. "If I'm always connected, I know what's going on. I actually feel more relaxed than I would otherwise."
Ahead of a weeklong family trip to California last year, Mr. Bhimji went as far as to set up a special U.S. plan for his cellphone to avoid excessive roaming charges.
While away, he checked his e-mail every couple of hours. And at Disneyland, while waiting in line or walking around the theme park in between rides, Mr. Bhimji was on his phone - much to his wife's chagrin.
"My wife was sort of, you know, 'You could leave the phone for 10 minutes and talk to me instead,' " he says. But, he adds, "she's sort of grown accustomed to it."
When not on vacation, Mr. Bhimji says he normally works 10 to 15 hours a day, and regularly pops into the office on his Saturdays off as well.
"I just find it just keeps me occupied," he says, noting he gets bored when he's away from his desk too long. "And it's just a force of habit, really. I've just always been like that."
Workaholism, often referred to as the "respectable addiction," isn't a diagnosable disorder, and some experts say unless a preoccupation with work negatively affects one's health or relationships, it's not necessarily a bad thing. (Both Ms. Freeman and Mr. Bhimji say they feel good about their zeal for work and do not believe it gets in the way of other aspects of their lives.) When it comes to taking time off, Toronto psychotherapist Annette Bradshaw says workaholics tend to feel a sense of loss or anxiety because work fills their days.
"If they have free time, unstructured time, even if they get sick or something like that … then it's hard."
Some may feel that their identity is tied to what they do, and others may find that they haven't nurtured their friendships or other interests beyond work, she says.
Some workaholics may also worry that if they take time to relax, their work will unravel.
Phoebe Lam of Edmonton says she feels reluctant to take a break from her disc jockey job at a radio station for this reason.
"Mostly, I just worry about what will go wrong while I'm gone," she says, adding that she also doesn't like leaving tasks for her colleagues. "I like to do everything all time so I know it's done right."
Ms. Lam, who is also a full-time university student, says work provides her with a sense of relief that vacation does not.
"Working is relaxing for me because I don't have to deal with the 'drama' in life while I'm working," she says. "People act professionally when working so I don't have to deal with people's emotions that are sometimes far from reasonable when in a social setting."
If the idea of lying on a beach and "doing nothing" is too difficult, workaholics may have a better time on an adventure-type holiday that involves some structure and allows them to feel a sense of accomplishment, Ms. Bradshaw suggests.
Those who don't have families or friends with whom to spend their holiday may consider joining a tour or other group activities so they won't feel alone, she adds.
"Then they get that reverse peer pressure. No one else is working on their vacation in that group, so [they can]use the peer pressure to their advantage in that way."
Holidays aren't difficult just for workaholics either. Partners and family members can feel left out or abandoned when a workaholic is constantly distracted, says Jothi Ramesh, a psychotherapist in Toronto.
She suggests establishing ground rules for workaholic partners on holiday, such as determining when and how long they may spend on the computer or how they may be reached in case of an emergency at work.
Couples should also plan their vacation together, she adds, noting that the key to a successful break is to make sure the workaholic partner is on board.
"It is more about helping the person understand why this [holiday]is important and how they need to do it, and how it's going to have an impact, not only on them, but also on the family and, quite frankly, they're going to enjoy it too," Ms. Ramesh says.
Ms. Freeman, meanwhile, is considering her own way of dealing with her impending time off: "I'm gonna have to get another job for something to do."