Chained to the Desk in a Hybrid World

A step-by-step guide to reestablishing work-life balance

Americans love a hard worker. The employee who toils eighteen-hour days and eats 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, physical and mental burnout. Intended for anyone touched by what Robinson calls “the best-dressed problem of the twenty-first century,” Chained to the Desk in a Hybrid World provides an inside look at the impact of work stress on those who live and work with workaholics—partners, spouses, children, and colleagues—as well as the appropriate techniques for clinicians who treat them.

This groundbreaking book builds on the research included in three previous editions of Chained to the Desk from the best-selling author and widely respected family therapist Bryan E. Robinson. In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and the rise of working from home, Robinson finds that the agonies of work stress have only become more challenging. Recent years have seen an unprecedented shift to remote work, which has made it significantly harder to maintain the already delicate work-life balance, weakened as it is by smartphones and other technology. The result is that many workaholics are more stressed and burnt out than ever before in their work, despite being constantly in the presence of family. Chained to the Desk in a Hybrid World both counsels and consoles. It provides a step-by-step guide to help readers spot, understand, and ultimately recover from workaholism.

Bryan E. Robinson is Professor Emeritus at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, and a psychotherapist in private practice. He writes for Forbes.com and Thrive Global and is the author of over forty books, including three editions of Chained to the Desk: A Guidebook for Workaholics, Their Partners and Children, and the Clinicians Who Treat Them and #Chill: Turn Off Your Job and Turn on Your Life.Bryan E. Robinson is Founder and Chief Architect Officer of Comfort Zones Digital, Professor Emeritus at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, and a psychotherapist in private practice. He writes for Forbes.com and Thrive Global and is the author of over forty books, including three editions of Chained to the Desk: A Guidebook for Workaholics, Their Partners and Children, and the Clinicians Who Treat Them and #Chill: Turn Off Your Job and Turn on Your Life.

This work is recommended as a helpful update for libraries where earlier editions circulate, or where self-help and psychology books are popular.

Joy Erlichman Miller, CEO, Resiliency Forums:
Bryan Robinson has written the universal guide on work addiction and work-life balance. This premier authority has compiled a comprehensive encyclopedia of life-saving strategic techniques in a classic masterpiece.

Amit Sood, M.D., Executive Director, Global Center for Resiliency & Wellbeing:
A truly insightful book that will help you find immersive presence and fulfillment in your life. Dr. Robinson’s book offers a combination of heart-warming stories, cutting edge science, and transforming skills—all packaged in a true page turner. If you have heard the words ‘work’ and ‘stress,’ this book is written just for you.

Ethan Kross, author of Chatter:
Masterfully blends compelling stories with cutting-edge science to provide readers with a new way to think about burnout and science-based tools they can use to manage it. If you’ve ever found yourself struggling to break free from the incessant demands of work, this beautifully written book is for you.

Kristin Neff, author of Self-Compassion:
This book is a lifesaver for anyone who is burnt out and exhausted from working too much. It comprehensively explains the problems, provides science-based solutions, and tells personal stories that make a great read.

Tara Brach, Ph.D., author of Trusting the Gold and Radical Acceptance:
The glorification of `busy’ is rampant in our success driven culture. Chained to the Desk is a masterful exploration of the mind of the workaholic and offers creative and powerful practices to build resilience, increase mindfulness, and restore balance in the midst of a speedy and stressful culture.

Arianna Huffington, Founder and CEO of Thrive Global:
Some books are perfect for keeping on the bedside table, and Bryan Robinson’s Chained to the Desk is one of them. Full of inspiration and practical wisdom, this is a blueprint for how to untangle from work addiction, work stress, and the fight-or-flight response and live authentically from the inside out with less stress and burnout and more joy.

Richard Schwartz, author of No Bad Parts:
This 4th edition of Bryan Robinson’s groundbreaking book on workaholism arrives at an interesting time in our history. I know of no other book that better identifies this other pandemic of work addiction that takes such a toll on individuals and their families, on the companies that foster it, and yet is so revered in our culture. . . . Offers a host of scientific studies, celebrity stories (including his own moving self-disclosures), as well as compassion-based practices to convince your inner workaholic to let you have your life back. This is an important read for this crucial time in our history.

Harville Hendrix, and Helen LaKelly Hunt, co-authors of Getting the Love You Want: A Guide for Couples:
A profound book that is about more than addictive behavior. It is about the tragic dimension of the human situation.

Alanis Morissette, singer/songwriter:
Bryan Robinson is the seminal voice in work addiction recovery. I have greatly benefited from his guidance, experience, knowledge and wisdom on the topic of healing from what I consider to be the quietest and most insidious (and often praised) addiction in today’s times.