Pinoy “Pimp My Rice” owner Warns Everyone About Workaholism

In the current fast-paced world, most people spend more hours at work just to meet deadlines. For most business owners, such as restaurateurs, disengaging from work can be hard as it can mean a loss of revenue. The attitude “time is money” is common with most business owners that make them think twice of actually spending their time for themselves. This brings about the “addiction of this century” — workaholism.

Workaholism means that you are overly compelled to work, even if it has negative consequences for mental and physical health. This is different from high performance at work as there is a difference between a workaholic and a hard worker. The latter works hard in a healthy sustainable way while feeling happy and inspired.

Pinoy Winnipeg restaurateur Roddy Seradilla has a warning for anyone who thinks they are too busy to worry about their health. He has experienced first-hand how to be eaten up by the work you do that it made took a toll on his health.

A 43-year-old father of two, Seradilla has been in the Winnipeg food scene for years. He started working at Bar Italia on Corydon Avenue before starting his own food truck called Pimp My Rice. In 2015, he opened Filipino restaurant Bisita. For the longest time, he has lived his life on the go. Being so caught up with work, he has been having health issues but they were pushed to the back of his mind, and he wasn’t consistent with this medication intake.

Recently, he has suffered from two heart attacks. Doctors told Seradilla he’d had two heart attacks and needed surgery to fix three blocked arteries. He instantly thought that he didn’t have time for heart surgery which is not a good sign. He had to make a decision.

Bisita, the restaurant, Seradilla had been working 12-hour days while trying to look after his family, so he decided to put the business for sale and now sold. He is also selling the Pimp My Rice truck but he is keeping the name with a hope that one day he will be back in business. I asked if he will operate this summer and he answered, somebody will or if anyone interested, just give him a call.

As of the moment, he says he’s going to focus on his health and work on getting better. He shared his story to serve as a warning for people who get consumed by their work to change their ways before it becomes irreversible.

“If you haven’t had yourself checked out in a bit, or if there has been something that you think might be something, it doesn’t hurt to go check it out,” he said. “I’ve been blessed to have this second opportunity, you may not, so take the time (to listen to your body).”

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