To all the workaholics out there - for your reading pleasure :)
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Source: http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/10/22/business/workcol23.php?page=2
The Workplace: How to tell if you're a "workaholic"NEW YORK:
You put in 12 to 14 hours a day at the office and often work on
weekends and at home. Some people have joked that you are a
"workaholic," and a few people close to you have even said that it's a
serious problem. Is it? How can you tell?
Chances are you're a workaholic if you feel compelled to work for
the sake of working, and you feel panic, anxiety or a sense of loss
when you aren't working.
The workaholic is "addicted to incessant activity," said Diane
Fassel, author of "Working Ourselves to Death" and chief executive of
Newmeasures, which conducts employee satisfaction surveys. The behavior
continues even if the worker is told that it is personally harmful -
even harmful to the quality of the work, Fassel said.
Q: Is workaholism really a disease, like alcoholism?
A: Opinions differ over whether such unhealthy behavior - as opposed
to abuse of substances like drugs and alcohol - can be considered an
actual addiction. But more mental health professionals now consider
workaholism to be a condition that potentially can cause both mental
and physical damage, said Bryan Robinson, who is a psychotherapist in
Asheville, North Carolina, and the author of the book "Chained to the
Desk."
One problem is that people are praised and rewarded for working
excessively. That almost never happens with addictions, Fassel said.
Q: Are certain types of people more prone to workaholism than others?
A: Most workaholics are either perfectionists, have a need for
control or a have combination of both traits, said Gayle Porter, an
associate professor of management at the Rutgers School of Business in
Camden, New Jersey, who has studied workaholism.
Working too hard can also be a way to escape from a bad relationship
or to make up for an absence in one's personal life, Robinson said.
Q: What are some of the dangers of working too hard?
A: The stress that goes along with working too much has been shown
to lead to substance abuse, sleep disorders, anxiety and ultimately to
physical problems like heart disease, Fassel said. Often, a visit to
the doctor's office is the first step toward recovery, she said.
Q: What's the difference between workaholism and working very hard?
A: The nonworkaholic knows how to set boundaries. Fassel said: "Many
of us at various times in our life have to work very long hours, but we
have the internal regulator that says, 'This has gone on long enough.'
" The workaholic "feels bereft without that constant activity," she
said.
Q: What are some telltale signs of workaholism?
A: If several people close to you say they feel neglected by you
because of your work, you should certainly take their words seriously.
And if you regularly conceal from family members that you are
working - say, sneaking into the next room to peek at your BlackBerry -
you may have a problem, Robinson said.
Q: Is technology making workaholism worse?
A: No question. People are now able to consult BlackBerrys on the
sidewalk and in restaurants and go online at home and during vacation.
In addition to assuming that the person who spends the most time in the
office is the best employee, we may also think that "the person most
willing to be connected 24/7" is the most valuable, Porter said.
Q: Do workaholics accomplish more than people who work fewer hours?
A: Often, they don't. That is because, as perfectionists, they may
become so fixated on inconsequential details that they find it hard to
move on to the next task, Robinson said.
As Porter put it: "They're not looking for ways to be more
efficient; they're just looking for ways to always have more work to
do."
Most companies think that they are benefiting from a workaholic's
long hours, even if it is at the worker's expense, Porter said. In
fact, she said, workaholism can harm the company as well as the worker.
Q: How can workaholism harm a company?
A: In addition to discouraging efficiency, it can put enormous
stress on co-workers. If the workaholic is a manager, he or she may
expect long hours from subordinates, may force them to try to meet
impossible standards, then rush in to save the day when the work is
deemed substandard, Porter said.
The person may look like a hero, coming in to solve crisis after
crisis, when in fact the crises could have been avoided. Sometimes, the
workaholic may have unwittingly created the problems to provide the
endless thrill of more work.
Q: What steps can a person take to stop working too hard?
A: The behavior can be an extraordinarily hard to change, experts agree. "People will go through withdrawal," Porter said.
In addition, an employer could perceive the workaholic's reduced
work hours and curtailed accessibility as a drop in performance, Porter
said. In that case, it may be necessary to request a new assignment or
a transfer within the company, she said.
That is why professional help, or at least the active support of family members and friends, may be needed to turn the tide.