Am I a workaholic?
For some of us, there is a very fine line between being a hard worker and being an addict....
We love a hard worker, the one who toils eighteen hours a day and eats meals on the run. Their desks are stacked high with projects, they sweat the small details the rest of us overlook. They’re perfectionists, with not much of a life outside the office. We look at them with respect and awe, but instead of admiration, we should be feeling concern. For this attitude to work leads to family problems, a decline in work productivity, and, ultimately, physical and mental burnout.
Most importantly, with more and more companies providing work phones and laptops for their employees and with working from home becoming standard practice for so many of us, the line between work and home has been blurred. So now, more than ever, we’re all at risk of developing some unhealthy practices. I know I’ve been guilty of working late into the night, checking emails before bed or first thing in the morning. While I don’t think I’m a workaholic, I haven’t always got the balance right and so I thought I’d look into it. Here’s what I’ve come to understand...
Is work addiction real?
Yes and no. Work addiction is recognised as a genuine condition. It was coined by psychologist Wayne Oates in 1971, to describe an uncontrollable need to work. Some research suggests that as much as one in four people could be workaholics. We know it is more common in women than men. We also know that there is a strong positive correlation between work addiction and some psychiatric disorders, most notably ADHD, OCD, anxiety, and depression. But work addiction hasn’t yet made it into the DSM 5 or the ICD – 11 and this means that doctors cannot formally diagnose it.
Like recognised addictions, workaholism can be dangerous to your health, your happiness, relationships and the way you function in general. Despite this, many of us would proudly identify themselves as workaholics, considering it a sign of dedication and ambition. After all, managers will reward those who go above and beyond. The pressure to work hard, impress the boss can blur the line between commitment and compulsion – which brings me onto one key difference to remember: it’s a question of motivation – happy workers genuinely enjoy their work. Workaholics feel compelled to work.
Dr Mike Drayton, who writes on the psychology of work, has identified four types of workaholics: the relentless workaholic, who works nonstop; the bulimic workaholic, who oscillates between intense periods of working and extreme avoidance; the attention-deficit workaholic, who gets bored and distracted easily and the perfectionist workaholic.
How do you become a workaholic?
Work addiction can arise from various psychological needs not being met elsewhere. Work can start to serve as an escape from unpleasant feelings or situations and give you a sense of competency, which you otherwise feel is lacking. It can stem from an inability to establish boundaries, or be linked to certain mental health conditions, such as obsessive-compulsive disorder or bi-polar disorder.
Symptoms of workaholism
Working unnecessarily long hours
Insomnia, losing sleep over work
Neglecting relationships
headaches, fatigue,
indigestion
chest pain, shortness of breath,
nervous tics or dizziness.
emotional outbursts, restlessness,
irritability or impatience
forgetfulness or poor concentration
boredom
mood swings
Narcissism and workaholism
Research suggests that narcissists are more likely than others to become workaholics. They have a strong need to be right and to have things done their way. There is only their point of view (theirs!) and no one else’s. Their agenda trumps everyone else’s, regardless of the consequences.
How do you treat workaholism?
There’s no simple fix, but with all addictions and compulsive behaviours, recognising the problem is the first step. Lifestyle changes will be essential, such as taking up hobbies, setting boundaries and practicing mindfulness. There is also a 12-step programme for people concerned their behaviour at work is out of control. You can find details of Workaholics Anonymous at https://www.wa-uk.org/am-i-workaholic
Am I a workaholic?
It’s not always easy to tell when you cross the line between hard worker and tip into unhealthy, compulsive behaviours. There are two tests I can recommend you take:
The Workaholic Anonymous quiz
Ask yourself the following questions and if you answer yes to three or more of them, you may need to get help.
1. Are you more drawn to your work or activity than close relationships or rest?
2. Are there times when you are motivated and push through tasks when you don’t even want to and other times when you procrastinate and avoid them when you would prefer to get things done?
3. Do you take work with you to bed? On weekends? On holiday?
4. Are you more comfortable talking about your work than other topics?
5. Do you pull all-nighters?
6. Do you resent your work or the people at your workplace for imposing so many pressures on you?
7. Do you avoid intimacy with others and/or yourself?
8. Do you resist rest when tired and use stimulants to stay awake longer?
9. Do you take on extra work or volunteer commitments because you are concerned that things won't otherwise get done?
10 Do you regularly underestimate how long something will take and then rush to complete it?
11 Do you immerse yourself in activities to change how you feel or avoid grief, anxiety, and shame?
12 Do you get impatient with people who have other priorities besides work?
13 Are you afraid that if you don't work hard all the time, you will lose your job or be a failure?
14 Do you fear success, failure, criticism, burnout, financial insecurity, or not having enough time?
15 Do you try to multi-task to get more done?
16 Do you get irritated when people ask you to stop doing what you're doing to do something else?
17 Have your long hours caused injury to your health or relationships?
18 Do you think about work or other tasks while driving, conversing, falling asleep, or sleeping?
19 Do you feel agitated when you are idle and/or hopeless that you'll ever find balance?
20 Do you feel like a slave to your email, texts, or other technology?
The Bergen Work Addiction Scale
This test was devised after a study of 12,135 Norwegian employees from 25 different industries. It analyses seven types of behaviour associated with drug or alcohol addiction – salience, mood modification, tolerance, withdrawal, conflict, relapse, and problems – and applies them to the workplace. There are just seven questions to answer...
For each of the following statements and give yourself a score between 1 and 5 for each, where: 1 is Never; 2 is Rarely; 3 is Sometimes; 4 is Often and 5 is Always:
1. You think of how you can free up more time to work.
2. You spend much more time working than initially intended.
3. You work to reduce feelings of guilt, anxiety, helplessness and depression.
4. You have been told by others to cut down on work without listening to them.
5. You become stressed if you are prohibited from working.
6. You deprioritize hobbies, leisure activities and exercise because of your work.
7. You work so much that it has negatively influenced your health.
If you score 4 or 5 on at least four of the seven statements it may suggest there’s a problem.
Did you give those tests I try? I did and it looks like I’m not a workaholic, although I did tick some boxes. Let me know how you got on.
Great article, your opening sentence is key to why this is such a problem and so hard to recognise. Organisations reward this kind of behaviour, they are certainly not going to ask you to cut down your efforts or hours, but so often spit you out when you break down.