Should a job provide a paycheck or a purpose? For Americans, the edict is both. “Work has become the centerpiece of our identity, the focal point of our lives, and the organizing principle of society,” says Derek Thompson in a new video from The Atlantic.

The concept of an all-consuming career—Thompson calls it workism—has rendered Americans the workaholics of the world. Where traditional religion once lent people meaning, community, and self-actualization, work has stepped in to fill the void. But it’s difficult to strike a balance between life and work, and many Americans are burning out.

“We have essentially made our work our god,” Thompson says.