Being a workaholic is a severe concern that is facing the business world today. Whether it’s the manager that spends lunch every day in their cube, the intern that stays up until 2:00 am balancing work and school, or the employee that is somehow always both first to arrive and last to leave, there are a few workaholics in every office environment.
What is a Workaholic?
A workaholic can be described as someone who prioritizes work to the extreme. This could be seen as taking work home repeatedly or even bringing work on vacations. This mindset can also lead to anxiety, depression, or sleeping disorders.
It is essential to understand the difference between a workaholic and a regular employee. Workaholics have an obsessive mindset when it comes to their job. They are constantly pushing themselves and working long hours, sometimes to the point of inflicting physical pain upon themselves. Usually, regular employees do not push themselves this harshly. It is important to remember that enjoying your job or being invested in a project does not automatically prove you suffer from workaholism.
If you are interested in taking a quiz to see if you are a workaholic, click here.
What are the Risks of Workaholism?
Workaholism can have severe effects on a person’s health. Unfortunately, being perpetually overworked is so normalized today that most people don’t recognize the signs of burnout. People who experience health problems like physical exhaustion, difficulty sleeping, or depression might be suffering from being overworked.
How Do I Make a Change?
Because overworking is admired in the business world, it is hard to know what you can do to change these habits. In order to break the addiction of overworking, it is essential to find the root of the problem. Are you using work to escape reality or to prove something to others?
Next, to break a work addiction, you need to set boundaries. Boundaries could be, turning your work phone off when you leave the office or turning off work email notifications. Some people who suffer from a work addiction might face problems while on the clock. Boundaries that could be set during work hours could be delegating tasks to other people or explaining to managers that you might not have time to complete a project.
Some people may not have the ability to refuse tasks in the office, so the last thing you can do to break a work addiction is to get support. If your manager isn’t working with you to help lighten your load, maybe it could be a good idea to talk to HR about the issues you are facing for those who prefer a less public approach to their addictions. There are groups like Workaholics Anonymous that can help you unplug from work.
Overall, employee health should be the focus when it comes to the business world. People get overwhelmed and busy, thankfully that doesn’t mean they are stuck there.
