Why You Can’t Stop Working—And How to Break the Cycle with Malissa Clark

Ambition 2.0

Girlboss

Entrepreneurship, Careers, Business

4.4 • 1.9K Ratings

🗓️ 13 January 2026

⏱️ 40 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Repeat after us: You can love your job and still be a workaholic. In this episode of Ambition 2.0, Amanda Goetz sits down with Dr. Malissa Clark, a professor at the University of Georgia, Director of the Healthy Work Lab, and author of Never Not Working: Why the Always-On Culture Is Bad for Business—and How to Fix It, to break down what workaholism can look like in real life (spoiler: it’s not just about working long hours). They get into the sneaky “working light” tasks that we tell ourselves don’t count as work (like sending emails while watching TV or checking Slack between errands), how leaders accidentally create always-on teams, and so much more. If you’ve ever felt guilty while resting, struggled to stop thinking about work, or worried that your ambition is turning into something unhealthy, this episode is worth a listen. In this episode, you’ll learn: 00:00 Intro 01:33 What workaholism is (and the four components) 04:32 Early signs your work habits are becoming unhealthy 07:21 What to do if you think you might be a workaholic 11:23 How leaders unintentionally create “always-on” teams 13:26 How to bring boundaries up with your boss 20:46 Redesigning work culture 24:04 Surviving a 40-hour workweek without losing your life 32:56 Rapid fire: urgent emails, Slack, PTO, and commute baths GUEST LINKS Read Never Not Working: https://bookshop.org/a/116169/9781647825096 https://www.malissaclark.com/ FOLLOW THE PODCAST IG: https://www.instagram.com/girlboss/ | TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@girlboss Amanda Goetz: https://www.instagram.com/theamandagoetz/ https://girlboss.com/pages/ambition-2-0-podcast SIGN UP Subscribe to the Girlboss Daily newsletter: https://newsletter.girlboss.com/ For all other Girlboss links: https://linkin.bio/girlboss/ ABOUT AMBITION 2.0Powered by Girlboss, Ambition 2.0 is a podcast where we’ll be exploring what it really means to “have it all” in work, family, identity, and self… and if it’s actually worth it. Each week, you'll hear from hardworking women who’ve walked the tightrope of ambition. They'll share their costly mistakes, lessons learned, and practical tips for how to have it all and actually love what you have. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	People tell me, well, I love my work and so that means I'm not a workaholic.
0:05.5	And I tell them, well, it's not an either-or.
0:09.4	I actually love my work, too.
0:11.4	You know, I love being a professor.
0:13.7	I love being an author.
0:15.5	And I also struggle with workaholic tendencies at the same time.
0:29.8	I'm going to do. struggle with workaholic tendencies at the same time. Welcome to Ambition 2.0, the new podcast from Girl Boss, where we explore what it really means
0:35.4	to be ambitious in today's world.
0:41.3	I'm your host, Amanda Gets, two-time founder, CMO, Mom of Three, and I'm so excited about today's guest. I am joined by
0:45.3	Professor of Industrial Organizational Psychology at the University of Georgia.
0:50.3	She's the director of the Healthy Work Lab.
0:53.3	She's the author of Never Not Working,
0:56.5	why the always on culture is bad for business and how to fix it. She's one of the leading
1:01.3	researchers on workaholism and hustle culture, and her book is a wake-up call for anyone who
1:06.3	feels like work has taken over their whole life. Dr. Melissa Clark, welcome to Ambition 2.0. Thank you so much
1:14.4	for having me. I am so excited to be here. Thanks for coming all the way to rainy New York City
1:18.9	today. Right. Yeah. Okay. So I'm not going to lie. Reading your book, I was like,
1:25.4	this is the book I wish I would have read heading into my 20s when I felt
1:30.0	like I needed to hustle in order to kind of build that foundation of my career. So I want to start
1:37.3	with just, you've studied workaholism for years. How do you define it and how is it different
1:43.8	than working hard? Yeah. So I would say a lot of
1:49.2	people think of workaholism as just the number of hours worked, but it's actually much more nuanced
	...

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