Chained to the Desk (Second Edition): A Guidebook for Workaholics, Their Partners and Children, and the Clinicians Who Treat Them

As seen on 20/20, The Early Show, and ABC World News Tonight Americans love a hard worker. The man or woman who works eighteen-hour days and eats his or her meals on the run between appointments is usually viewed with a combination of respect and awe. But for many, this lifestyle leads to family problems, a decline in work productivity, and ultimately to physical and mental collapse. Chained to the Desk, best-selling author and widely respected family therapist Bryan E. Robinson’s groundbreaking book, originally published in 1998, was the first comprehensive portrait of the workaholic. Thousands benefited from this innovative book, which profiles the myths behind this greatly misunderstood disorder and the inner psychological battle that work addicts wage against themselves. Intended for anyone touched by what Robinson calls “the best-dressed problem of the twenty-first century,” the author also provides an inside look into the impact on those who live and work with them —partners, spouses, children, and colleagues—as well as the appropriate techniques for clinicians who treat them. In this new and updated edition, Robinson portrays the many different kinds of workaholism, drawing on hundreds of case reports from his own original research and years of clinical practice. From California to the Carolinas, men and women tell of their agonizing bouts with workaholism and the devastations left in its wake, struggles made all the more challenging in a world where the computer, cell phone, and Blackberry allow twenty-four-hour access to the office, even on weekends and from vacation spots. Adult children of workaholics describe their childhood pain and the lifelong legacies they still carry, and the spouses or partners of workaholics reveal the isolation and loneliness of their vacant relationships. Employers and business colleagues discuss the cost to the company when workaholism dominates the workplace. Chained to the Desk both counsels and consoles. It provides a step-by-step guide to help readers spot workaholism, understand it, and recover. Robinson presents strategies for workaholics and their loved ones on how to cope, and for people in the workplace on how to distinguish between work efficiency and workaholism.

About the Author :
Bryan E. Robinson, Ph.D., is Professor Emeritus at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte and a psychotherapist in private practice. He is the author of over 35 books, including The Smart Guide to Managing Stress and his debut novel, Limestone Gumption. He hosted the PBS documentary, Overdoing It: When Work Rules Your Life and has appeared on 20/20, Good Morning America, WorldNews Tonight, NBC Nightly News, and The Early Show.

Review :
“Along with readable stories that illustrate the problems of work addiction, Robinson offers real information on how to remedy it. Once again he leads the way in treatment of this serious disorder, at a time when others continue to minimize it. An important resource for everyone concerned with the damage workaholism causes to self, family, and career.” -Gayle Porter,Rutgers University Praise for the first edition: “Psychology professor and psychotherapist Bryan E. Robinson trains his practiced eyes on the workplace in Chained to the Desk. In chapters like “Treating Work Addiction as a Family Disease” and “The Childhoods of Workaholics,” Robinson begins with a case study and then explores the various beliefs, motivations and fears that propel people to overwork. This useful, well-tuned guide will serve therapists and the many people affected by the disease equally well.” -Publishers Weekly “Workaholics, their families, friends, and colleagues will welcome this comprehensive guide book. Robinson approaches workaholism with pragmatic and effective strategies designed to overcome the resistance with which most workaholics greet attempts to change them. This is also the first book I know of to look closely at the effect of workaholism on family members and children, the people who often feel most strongly its effects.”” -John Bradshaw,author of Homecoming: Reclaiming and Championing Your Inner Child “Robinson manages to cut to the heart of so many of today’s problems and offers practical suggestions for those of us who have suffered from work addiction. His book raises concern about the future of a nation that is chained to the desk, and for the children of parents who come home depleted and empty at the end of the day. A sober voice in a work-delirious culture.” -Patricia Love,co-author of Hot Monogamy “The many revealing case studies, self-analysis tools, and the autho’s personal story of his struggle with workaholism make for a thorough, solid package.” -Library Journal