Interesting post anita.

workaholism is a respectable addiction as opposed to say alcoholism for instance. as in your example, people can be escaping their inner demons by staying busy. Work can massage our ego “at least I am earning money, at least I am contributing to society and not taking. I can hold my head up high!”
in other words, our ego needs to work. Of course laziness can also be driven by our ego “I need to watch TV in order to escape feeling bored”. The ego is restless.
as you said, motivation for our work is the key:
am I trying to please someone?
is this just a means to an end?
do I really need a high paying job?
am I doing this job just to get out of the house?”

The shock comes for some when retiring. They have identified completely with their job role. “I’m a teacher. That’s who I am. Take my job away and I am useless!”