Work Text:
A workaholic: a person who works compulsively.
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The sound echoed through the long halls of the ship, darkness harmonizing with the non coordinating tune as it surrounds the human figure at her nearby work station of the night. She had not noticed that her yellow fox partner had gone to bed, nor had she noticed the azure hedgehog that leaned in the doorway. She was so immersed, so focused in her work that she had let time just fly in front of her, like a stream of water that never stopped.
He didn’t know how long he had been standing there for. 10 minutes? 50? An hour or two? To be honest, he’d stop counting after a minute. Emerald eyes burned into the back of the human figure, her posture never breaking as though she resembled a statue.
Is this where she’d been all those countless nights?
The person works at the cost of their sleep, meeting friends or family.
What did she say when she missed Amy’s invite, for like the 6th time?
“Oh shit, I slept in again .. My bad, Rosey cheeks. I promise to make it up to you.”
Or when she almost forgot about Cyrus’s last appointment before release?
“That was today ? Dammit, I'm gonna be a tad late then… Yeah, I overslept . I’ll be over in a sec, m’kay?”
When even her mother was concerned?
“Look, I know. I get it. It’s just that the freedom fighters have been super important to me right now and they’re counting on me. I know, I love you too Momma.”
She never told them what was really going on...
While the term generally implies that the person enjoys their work, it can also alternately imply that they simply feel compelled to do it.
Even when we asked her about it? Shrugged it off like it was no biggy.
Not an issue to her .
“Don’t you think that this could affect your health? Don’t you think this is a tad bit, ya know-” Tails bit his tongue, choosing his words carefully. He didn’t want to hurt her feelings, not one bit. He scratched his head, his mind pounding as ideas and solutions swirled his mind, trying to find a way to communicate them to her, to help her.
“He’s trying to say that you’re hurting yourself, My.” Sonic’s blunt tone slicing through thick atmosphere, like a sharp knife. His eyes pleading to the brown human, asking for some sort of response to calm their worries. Nothing.
Silence. Alright, he’ll push harder .
“You NEED to recognize that you are OVER working, you are working AHEAD and at the degree that you are working, it’s NOT healthy!” His hands motioned to the human that stood in front of him, trying to talk some sense into that brilliant mind of hers.
God, she was brilliant. A genius at that. So intelligent with the topic of human history and even some mobian history as well, she could technically be a professor at the highest ivy league schools if she had the drive.
But boy, was she stubborn .
“I don’t get why you are so worried. I’ve done this all my life, no worries from anyone in my life. I’m just trying to get my work done. I’m the one who got behind on my work so I’m the one who needs to pay the consequences and get my ass back to work! Why is that such a big deal?!” Her voice calm cracked as venom seeped through the tiny openings in her tone.
She didn’t want to get snappy but she was tired . Very tired. And, the others were noticing.
Shit.
Researchers have found that in many cases, incessant work-related activity continues even after impacting the subject's relationships and physical health.
“We’re worried because we care! I care! You’re pushing us away, My! We can help you!” Sonic’s voice rose as he continued, trying to push his words. His body was very close to Mya’s as he pointed his finger at her. Her eyes were bloodshot, the sight contrasting with her now dull ocean colored eyes.
“Mya, Sonic, guys please.” Tails pleaded with the duo, his voice significantly calmer than the duo but equally just as concerned as his brother’s. He didn’t want this, this fighting… He hated it more than anything.
But he couldn’t think of a single solution.
Causes of it are thought to be anxiety, low self-esteem and intimacy problems.
“Sonic, I need to get this done! Sally is counting on me to get this report in and submitted in 2 weeks and-”
“2 weeks! Mya, that’s WAYS away! Why are you so worried about it?!” Sonic’s thoughts were racing right now. Was she insane? The due date was days away and she was wasting her time on it now? What was she thinking?
“Exactly! If I don’t get this shit done now, I’ll never get it done! I fucking procrastinate like a bitch and -” Her body was shaking, she wanted to dissapear. Vanish. Abra-cadabra. Poof. Gone. Just like that and forget about this fucking situation.
Why did she have to be so obvious ?
Further, workaholics tend to have an inability to delegate work tasks to others.
Tails sat up, trying to at least come up with some form of relief, “Here, let us talk to Sally and-”
“Nonononono, this is my responsibility and I have to take-
Sonic grabbed the human’s shoulders, one hand on her cheek, “For the love of mobius, Mya! Let us help you !”
“She wants my work, she wants the top quality and that’s what shes gonna fucking get . Only I can give her that cause I’m the only person she asked! Can’t you get that?!” Mya tugged at her hair, the roots that have struggled with her for 19 years still staying strong.
They tend to obtain high scores on personality traits such as neuroticism, perfectionism and conscientiousness.
“Just take a break!”
“Please Mya…”
People who are neurotic respond worse to stressors and are more likely to interpret ordinary situations as threatening and minor frustrations as hopelessly difficult. They are often self-conscious and shy, and they may have trouble controlling urges and delaying gratification.
Did she stop? Not exactly…
“Here! We will keep you company!” The two tailed fox chirped to the groggily human. This was the only solution he was able to come up with. At least it was some sort of relief. Better something than nothing, right?
A mere nod of the head was all that the duo needed for them to just sit and try to help her. But for Sonic, it was mostly just to observe her. To see what she does while she was consumed in this mindset.
Whenever she got frustrated, a tear at the corner of a blank sheet.
Whenever they tried to read off of her, she would flinch and tug the paper away. No eye contact.
Tired? A swig of her tall large sugared devilish coffee that sat in front of her, not even bothered by the burn it left on her red tinted lips.
She was fully covered by a blanket but she quickly fixed her hair as soon as the duo came into the room, like she was trying to impress .
Perfectionism, in psychology, is a personality trait characterized by a person's striving for flawlessness and setting high performance standards, accompanied by critical self-evaluations and concerns regarding others' evaluations.
Everytime she messed up, in pencil , she would grab a new piece of paper and start again. Rewriting word for word exactly from the last paper onto the new one.
Her rare step-backs, where she would just stare at her work and decide if she was to completely stop working or accept it for what it was.
The way she stared at the duo, the thoughts in her head never spoke to them outloud but as some say, actions speak louder than words.
The way she would just tap her pencil, no beat or melody, just tapping.
Conscientiousness implies a desire to do a task well, and to take obligations to others seriously. Conscientious people tend to be efficient and organized. They exhibit a tendency to show self-discipline, act dutifully, and aim for achievement; they display planned rather than spontaneous behavior; and they are generally dependable.
But the thing that Sonic noticed the most, what really set him off, was her planner. All the assignments that Sally had told her, all the due dates, and everything that is upcoming . She had assignments that were in there for December of that year.
It was February at the moment.
She had exact times of when work needed to be done and when they should be started on in her planner. She had events, start and end times.
And when she completed an assignment-
“Hey Sonic?” Her voice was quiet, calm. The young fox partner was sleeping, his head resting in between his arms as his soft snores filled the quiet air from time to time.
The young hedgehog looked up from his book, him not being that too deep into it yet anyway. He raised his eyebrow at her, wondering why after, what a good 4-5 hours of not speaking and working in complete silence, would she need something from him?
“Wassup? Y’ready to finally accept the defeat of sweet sweet sleep?” His tone was playful and energetic, but his eyes told a very different story. They were partially red and bags had started to form but just had a tad bit of color at the moment.
“Nah, Mama didn’t raise a quitter. Can you cross off a couple things in my planner for me?” She handed him a red pen and he gave her a small smirk.
“Oooo~, did’ja get everything y’wanted done?” A smirk appeared on his soft peach muzzle as he opened the planner to a random date.
“February 26th. Assignment 38, completed.” She told him, not even acknowledging his recent statement. His fingers skimmed to the specific date and he simply put a large line through the assignment.
“March 6th, Assignment 49, completed.” Skimmed and repeated.
“March 16th, Assignment 50, completed.” Skimmed and repeated.
“Um, is there one for March 27th on there? Just wanna make sure that was the right one…” Her voice quieting as her statement continued, peering over the younger one’s shoulder to check. He skimmed to the date of March 27th, to see an item named ‘Assignment 51’ right under the date. She hummed in delight, “Alright, cross that one out too.” He did exactly as she said and then closed the planner.
“Ready to pack up?” She hummed to him.
“Really?!” He stood up from his chair, his voice still quiet but full of excitement. A small laugh came from the tired human as she started to pack up all of her belongings, making sure that nothing was misplaced and everything was orderly.
Sonic carried the young fox back to his room, quickly tucking him in before returning to Mya and his shared dorm.
Furthermore, workaholics often suffer sleep deprivation, which results in impaired brain and cognitive function.
It did not take her more than a good hour to return back to her work desk.
“When is it ever going to stop?”
“...shit. Sonic. Go back to bed. I’ll meet you there, ju-”
“Just give you more time? What assignment are you on now? 95?”
“...98.” Her back still turned to the figure behind her. She didn’t want to face him, god she really didn’t want to argue with him right now.
“What time do you think it is?” His voice was laced with concern but it still did not get closer to the human.
“I don’t fucking know, Sonic. I’m gonna guess wrong anyway.” She stood up and faced her young friend. She didn’t want to fight, not now. She was exhausted, and still a bit sick.
“It’s 2:00 in the morning. Tails woke me up wondering where you were. I’m not here to fight with you.” He slowly walked towards the human, grabbing her hand in his gloved ones and he gently squeezed them.
There are a good 7 helpful ways to help workaholics, even though these treatments don’t work for all.
“...Jesus Christ, I’m sorry.” She gently rubbed the bridge of her nose, trying to fight off a coming yawn but quickly failed.
“Hey hey, It’s alright! You’re doing great, it’s okay.” He gently rubbed the palm of her hand in comfort, trying to at least give her some sort of feeling or sense that everything was getting better.
First, learn to shut it down. Make a pact with yourself that you will not work past a certain time, and honor that time to shut everything down. Learn to walk away.
“I need to... not work past 12 or..” Mya ran her fingers through her soft long maroon hair, staring at the large amount of work that she had piled for herself to do.
“Or? What’s gonna happen, My?” Sonic gave her a tired side smirk and in return, the human gave out a soft chuckle.
“Amy’s gonna beat my ass.” The duo laughed at the statement, knowing the harsh truth behind it all.
“Let’s clean this up together, then we can go from there. Does that sound good to ya?” He motioned toward the table, cluttered with the very organized mess of assignments and papers.
“Yeah…,” She stared at the reality in front of her. “That sounds perfect.”
Second, give yourself a break. Learn to give yourself breaks during the workday, even if they're small ones. Go out for lunch instead of eating at your desk. Take a short walk around the office or a quick trip to a nearby park--anything that changes the scenery. Even 10 minutes away can make a world of difference.
“So, I talked to Sally earlier… and..”
“And? What did she say?” The backpack hoisted on his peach shoulders as he grabbed the human’s hand. She smiled at him and turned off the workroom light, exiting the room.
Walking side-by-side, she looked down at the floor and put her hand in her back pocket, “I told her about how I have a slight issue-”
“Slight?” A small chuckle came out of the hedgehog as a soft and playful punch was swiftly given after his statement.
“Shush, you. Fine. I told her that I have a major issue about being a workaholic and for me to get better, that she can’t give me my assignments ahead of time.”
“And? What did she say?” He gently rubbed the top of her hand with his gloved thumb.
“She told me that she had no idea and that she hopes that I get better soon.” A smiled form on the human’s tinted red lips as she spoke, thinking back on the memory from earlier that day. “Well, that’s great! Were you able to get a break in today? I think I might've overheard Ames talking about you and her baking some pretty tasty treats?” Sonic looked up at her, curiously glancing up at her.
“Yeah, I stopped by Amy’s house earlier before we got back on the ship and we baked a couple of pies with Rouge and Cream. We did some sort of knock off baking competition and we invited Knuckles to judge.”
“And you didn’t invite me? I’m hurt, how could you?” The hedgehog stopped in his tracks and dramatically placed a hand on his forehead.
“Awww, ya butt hurt? Boohoo..” Mya made a fake, exzaggerated pouty face and Sonic stuck out his tongue, earning a small giggle from the both of them.
Third, change your mindset. You may be among the many people who believe that long hours demonstrate your great work ethic and that those who take breaks (or spend evenings, weekends, and vacations disconnected) are lazy or less committed. But that way of thinking is both inaccurate and unhealthy, so push back when you catch yourself giving in to it. Remember, what you think is what you are.
“God, there were so many times where I just thought, ‘Wow! This looks so shitty, Amy. Let me start over!’ And she was like ‘NO! You can’t be a perfectionist, Mya Zora!’. I was so angry at her!” The human recalled, a playful tone laced through her story. Her ocean eyes were now shining brighter than they had been since the return of her ‘workaholic state’. He was so proud of her, but he knew how high she had set herself. Mya knew that her work was great, but he knew that she did not respond well to ‘fuck-ups’.
“Mya, I bet it looked amazing. It was just a cake.” Sonic playfully squeezed her hand, earning a playful glare in return.
“It wasn’t just a cake! It was my cake.....Still was alright, I guess. Wasn’t up to my standards but it was still a good 5/10.” Did he ever tell you guys that she had insane standards?
“But it still was editable?” The younger one questioned.
“No shit-sherlock, it was très délicieux. ” The native language smoothly slipped from her tongue as she spoke of her activities. She would never admit it, but she was sort-of proud of the work from earlier today.
Fourth, treat it seriously. When you are consumed with work and act as if your life were dependent on your job, you're likely damaging your health and relationships. You need to take change seriously. If need be, consider getting help to learn better skills for balancing your life.
Fifth, Don't bring it home. The hardest test of all! When you go home, make a point of turning off your phone and disconnecting from your email. Instead, take time for friends and family. It's time to be the person who just might be unavailable to work for a while--and unless you're literally saving lives with your job, that's OK.
A small creak of the door was heard as the duo made their way into the shared dorm room of theirs. A small yawn was heard from the bed and figure appeared to be rubbing their eyes. A pair of tails sprung out on the bed was seen and a soft smile appeared on the duo’s faces.
“Mya? Is that you?” The tired voice of the young fox was almost a mere whisper to the human and she made her way to the bed, gently running her fingers through his soft orange fur.
“Shush now, hon. You go back to sleep. You need your rest.” She softly spoke to him. A quiet snort was heard from the fox as she popped his head on the pillow, a soft muffled, “Look who's talking.” almost goes unheard. Her mind had stopped racing, no thought of work in her mind. Just her two boys.
Six, meditate on it. More than most people, workaholics need to learn to turn off their thinking mind. The practice of meditation is a great way to make that happen. Take some time every day and consciously slow down, breathe, relax, rest your mind, and feed your heart.
“Now scoot, your girl needs her beauty sleep. She kinda be lookin’ like a rat recently and it’s kinda scary.” The trio softly laughs as Sonic closes the door to their dorm, quickly laying on the left side of Tails. Mya lays on the right side, closing her eyes and slowly calming her breathing.
She tries to think of sheep, kind of boring.
Numbers? Nonono, those stress her out.
She tries to focus on the breathing of her two boys? Bingo.
Seven, set healthy boundaries. Many people who are prone to chronic overwork also have trouble setting and maintaining boundaries. As a starting point, make a work schedule and commit to it. If you need to include some late evening or weekend hours, that's fine--but do it intentionally, based on schedules and patterns, not just because you're already there and you haven't yet dropped from exhaustion.
She had done this for years, and yet, it went unnoticed. No one had a clue, she hid it so well. She thought that it would work for the rest of her life.
Well, she was wrong.
She didn’t expect two amazing friends to come along and set her ass straight.
She felt blessed and-
“SNORE”
She felt loved.
THE END
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EXTRA:
“Jesus fucking christ, Sonic the hedgehog. Such a loud snorer.” The tired human tried to throw a pillow at the now-awake hedgehog on the opposite side from her, missed.
“Language.” A muffled voice was heard between the two bodies, coming from the also now-awake young fox.
“My bad. Cheese and fucking crackers, Sonic the fucking hedgehog. ” Another pillow thrown, missed again.
“Sweet mobius…” Tails was going to have a long day and/or night by the looks of it.