I work for a workaholic and I hate it!

[Anonymous]

I am a person who does not enjoy working, but I am very good at what I do, take pride in doing a good job, and have always had great success earning the respect of my colleagues. At the same time, I put boundaries around me work and home life, partly out of need ( a single mom of a young child) and partly out of my need to live a life that works for me.
For the past year I have been working for a boss who is an all-out workaholic. I am having trouble figuring out how to respond or cope. He lives to work, and seems genuinely shocked when, for example, I respond to only important emails while on vacation. This is not at all a matter of my not getting things done or meeting deadlines, though recently he has gotten out of hand in assuming I and others would work through Christmas Day and thanksgiving to accomplish things just because.
Any advice on how to deal? Do I just need to get a new job?
Thanks.

[Anonymous]

OP, I'm sorry. I worked for someone like your boss once, and I got out as fast as I could.

From my experience, people like your boss usually are lacking in other aspects of life and are overcompensating for it by 'being busy 24/7'. Unless you are a first responder or an emergency room surgeon, there is no need for anyone to be on call at all hours.

[Anonymous]

I worked for someone like that, who expected to be done and never thanked me or rewarded me. If anything he made me feel lazy and incompetent. Get out as fats as you can. Good luck.

[Anonymous]

Is he old. They usually are. They have no life. Sad.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Is he old. They usually are. They have no life. Sad.

Yes. He is 70 and plans to work for 5 more years.
I want to respect him but I just don't. And I'm having a really hard time separating what is reasonable from what isn't.

[Anonymous]

I am sorry OP. You need to change your boss. That may mean finding another job, changing to another role within the same organization, or getting your boss kicked out. Good luck!

[Anonymous]

OP, I feel for you. My mantra is never work for a workaholic. No matter how many hours you work or what you do, it will never be enough. Their entire life is the job, period.