Why Making Yourself Dispensable at Work Can Protect Your Health and Career
By Joy Stephenson-Laws, Holistic Coach, J.D., Founder
Introduction
Many people feel they must be indispensable at work. They take on every task, answer every call, and become the one person who knows how to do certain jobs. They believe this will secure their position. At first, being “needed” can feel reassuring. But making yourself indispensable often comes at a high cost. It can harm your health – physically, mentally, emotionally, and even spiritually. Ironically, it can also hold back your career.
In this post, we’ll explore how being dispensable (ensuring the team can survive without you for a while) can actually protect your well-being and help your career.
Physical Health
Overworking and never taking breaks can damage your body. Long hours and constant stress put strain on your heart, immune system, and more. Studies have found that working too many hours increases the risk of serious health problems. For example, research shows that working 55+ hours a week raises the risk of stroke and heart disease. Stress hormones and lack of sleep raise blood pressure and weaken your heart over time. Constant stress also weakens your immune system, making you sick more often.
Real-life examples prove this. One professional shared that she was working 60–80 hours a week under intense pressure. The stress built up so much fluid behind her eye that she suddenly faced a detached retina – a condition that required emergency surgery to prevent blindness. She later suffered lasting vision problems. Another woman earned a big promotion that came with very long hours and frequent travel. In trying to prove herself indispensable, she stopped exercising and lost sleep, which weakened her body’s defenses. She ended up with a serious illness. Tragically, after all her sacrifice, her company still laid off many staff, including her.
The lesson is clear: no job is worth permanent health damage. Your body needs rest, nutrition, and care to stay strong. If you make yourself dispensable – meaning you take your vacation days, go home at a reasonable hour, and let others share the workload – you give your body time to recover. A healthier body will actually make you a better worker too. You’ll have more energy, get sick less, and avoid burnout.
Mental Health
Trying to be indispensable can also wreck your mental health. If you’re the only one who can handle things, you might feel constant anxiety. You worry, “What if something goes wrong when I’m not there?” or “I can’t ever switch off.” This kind of stress never lets your mind rest.
One worker described getting texts from her manager at 2 AM and constant last-minute demands. She said she lived in a “constant state of anxiety.” Living on high alert like this can lead to chronic stress, insomnia, and eventually burnout. Burnout is more than just feeling tired – it’s a state of exhaustion, cynicism, and reduced effectiveness.
Being “always on” also hurts your clarity and creativity. One manager realized that never unplugging from work meant she never had the mental space to think creatively or strategically. Her brain was always cluttered with tasks and worries. Over time, this can lead to forgetfulness, frustration, and feeling stuck.
Depression can also creep in. People who sacrifice personal time and hobbies often see their mood drop. If your identity is tied only to being “the go-to person,” any setback at work can shake your self-esteem. And if layoffs happen, being indispensable won’t protect you. Studies show that even employees who survive layoffs often experience guilt, stress, and reduced productivity. This proves that overwork doesn’t guarantee safety – it just guarantees stress.
To protect your mind, you need to set boundaries and trust others. When you make yourself dispensable, you allow your brain to rest. You return to work with a sharper, calmer mind. Freeing yourself from constant worry isn’t just good for you – it makes you more productive and creative.
Emotional Health
Emotional health is about your feelings, relationships, and mood. Trying to be indispensable often means you are always working and rarely present with loved ones. This can leave you feeling lonely or resentful.
One woman admitted that by being available to her job 24/7, she had become “unavailable to the people who mattered most” in her life. Another professional said her long hours caused her to miss key moments with her children. These sacrifices left both workers emotionally drained and disconnected.
Overwork also makes you irritable and impatient. You come home too tired to engage, and small issues can feel overwhelming. This hurts your relationships. At work, being the hero all the time can make you resentful (“Don’t they see how much I sacrifice?”), while coworkers may become too dependent on you.
Another issue is self-worth. Many people tie their value to being needed. They feel proud when others say, “We couldn’t do this without you.” But this creates emotional dependency. If you’re not constantly saving the day, you feel worthless. That’s not healthy.
When you share responsibilities and let others succeed, you actually feel lighter and happier. You become part of a supportive team instead of carrying everything alone. You’ll also have more time for hobbies, family, and rest – all of which boost your mood. Most importantly, you’ll realize that you are valuable for who you are, not just for what you do.
Spiritual Health
Spiritual health is about your sense of purpose, values, and inner peace. It may come from faith, reflection, or simply living by what you believe matters.
When you spend all your time trying to be indispensable, you lose time for reflection, connection, and growth. You may neglect practices like prayer, meditation, or spending time in nature. This can leave you feeling empty or questioning the meaning of your life.
Being indispensable can also cause values conflicts. You may value honesty, kindness, or family, but constant overwork leads you to cut corners, snap at others, or miss important family time. This inner conflict chips away at your spirit.
Making yourself dispensable allows you to reconnect with what gives you meaning. It might mean having time to rest, reflect, or give back to others. You may find peace in teaching coworkers, helping your community, or simply being present with family.
In spiritual terms, letting go of the ego-driven need to “be the only one” frees you. You realize your value doesn’t come from holding everything together. Instead, it comes from living your values and contributing to something bigger than yourself.
Integration: the whole picture
Physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual health are all connected. When you overwork, all four suffer. But when you make yourself dispensable, all four improve together.
Taking a vacation, for example, lets your body rest (physical), clears your mind (mental), lifts your mood (emotional), and gives you space to reflect on life (spiritual). These benefits feed each other, creating a cycle of balance and health.
Making yourself dispensable also helps your career. If you’re the only one who can do your job, your boss may hesitate to promote you – they don’t want chaos if you leave. But if you train others and share knowledge, you show leadership. You prove the team can succeed without you, which makes you promotable. Ironically, the less the company depends on you day-to-day, the more valuable you become as a leader.
Conclusion
Being indispensable might sound impressive, but it’s a dangerous trap. It harms your body with stress, drains your mind, isolates your emotions, and leaves your spirit empty. It can even stall your career.
Being dispensable is not about slacking off. It’s about building a healthy balance. It means sharing work, setting boundaries, and trusting your team. It means protecting your health so you can thrive long-term.
When you let go of the pressure to be the only one, you protect your health and open doors for growth. Your workplace will survive without you – and you’ll be stronger, healthier, and happier because of it.
SOURCES
World Health Organization (2021) – Report on long working hours and health risks. Found working 55+ hours weekly increases risk of stroke and heart disease.
Zee Clarke, Thrive Global (2023) – Personal story of how extreme overwork caused serious health issues like a detached retina and illness.
Alliance of Channel Women – Mayka R.-Peterson (2025) – “The Power of Pause” story. A VP described how constant work led to sickness and burnout, and how taking a break improved her health and helped her team.
Psychology Today – Deborah G. Riegel (2024) – Article on the hidden costs of being indispensable. Explained that refusing to delegate can lead to burnout and stall career growth.
Yes Wellbeing Works – Shanna Tiayon (2021) – Blog on why people work while sick. Showed that working when ill reduces productivity more than resting would.