During the pandemic, the world got used to the work-from-home culture but somewhere this culture has blurred the lines between work and life, and the whole work-life balance concept goes for a toss due to the same. Gadgets and the predisposition of email accounts at our hands make us professionally available anytime anywhere.
It then becomes easy to get engrossed in work without even realizing what we are doing. In addition, as we are taught since times immemorial that hard work pays and hustling has been overrated on all social media platforms, falling prey to the trend becomes easier. There is a fine line between hard work and workaholism.
Due to all these factors, you may overstep and not even know. This being said there is a vast difference between hard work and work addiction and this is what we are going to touch on in this article.
So read further to know whether you are a hard worker or a workaholic!
What Is Workaholism?
You may think it is easy to understand workaholism, in the sense that if a person works a lot throughout the day or is constantly working, he may be called a workaholic. If only it was so easy to define this concept. There are various studies conducted in this area of interest and turns out that it is more complex than it sounds.
Workaholism is related to work involvement that is continuously greater than required for the fulfilment of work tasks. The actual time spent working is insufficient in defining workaholism. The risk of workaholism is determined by compulsive work attitude and inability to disengage from work.
External factors play a rather small role in workaholism as it is more of an internal compulsion rather than a reaction to external incentives. It is a serious and stable investment of time in work activities and thoughts of work, regardless of external demands. Workaholism is reflected in one’s behavior, thinking as well as experience (1).
Even though there are no strict criteria for defining workaholism, empirical evidence demonstrates 3 crucial dimensions of workaholism called the workaholism triad which include
- Work involvement – it represents time investment in work; the extent to which one engages herself in work activities.
- Work drive – internal pressure that forces an individual to work (or think about work), even though it is not required, and despite the experienced emotional dissatisfaction.
- Work enjoyment – level of joy experienced at work and when thinking of work (1).
Workaholism is determined by a high level of work involvement, strong compulsions to work, and low work enjoyment. The validity of the workaholism triad was confirmed by a study conducted by Buelens M. and Poelmans S.A.Y. in 2004 (2).
Consequences Of Workaholism
Although some may say that being a workaholic is good as you may achieve great heights in your professional career there is another school of thought that focuses on the not-so-good effects of workaholism.
Being a workaholic may give you job and life satisfaction to a certain extent but may also leave you feeling burned out and tired at the end of the day. You may achieve your organizational rewards and promotions but may also experience anxiety and stress.
Opportunities may come your way but with a compromise on your creativity. Your job performance may increase exponentially but your relationship with your peers and colleagues may be hampered at the same time (3).
You need to outweigh the pros and cons of both and consciously make a decision as to in which situation to become a workaholic. Realize when this behavior is becoming toxic for your health and nip it in the bud before it becomes an issue that you cannot handle.
Signs That You Are a Workaholic
You arrive first and leave last from your workplace
Are you the first person to arrive at the office in the morning? although this may be beneficial for you considering some people are the most productive when they are fresh early in the morning and distractions during this time are minimum but if you are the last one leaving the workplace then that may be an issue.
Instead of working long hours, you should learn how to work smart and manage your time well so that you can finish your day’s work in time.
You have no hobbies or any other interests
If you find yourself working constantly and getting no time to pursue any of your interests so much so that you even think about work when you are free it may be a sign of workaholism. If you always prioritize your work over all other activities it may lead to serious consequences like a diminishing social circle and lack of work-life balance – which just leaves you with colleagues and clients on your contacts list.
You are constantly stressed
Stress is often a positive entity that keeps you motivated at work and helps you meet important deadlines. But how much stress is good enough? Obviously, if you find yourself continuously worrying about your work then this is not a good sign for either your short or long-term health. You may not feel it at that moment but it will definitely affect you mentally as well as physically. Suffering from withdrawal symptoms on weekends is a big no!
You do not break for lunch
Not having lunch or forgetting to eat? Are you doing it voluntarily or does it eventually happen that you end up eating nothing by the end of the day? a proper meal will help you think better as well as give you a little time off to refresh and get back to work. After all, you work so that you can fulfill your basic necessities and hunger is one of them!
Constantly checking your emails.
Checking your email at work is fine, it will indeed keep you updated and in pace with your peers but doing the same after heading for home is again a sign that you may be a workaholic.
Unless very urgent you have should not be spending your evenings or weekends responding to or sending emails. This disturbs your work-life balance and may also affect your relationship with your family.
You get impatient with everyone
It could be your colleague who leaves early every Friday or the parent who wants to reduce their hours – do you get frustrated with all those who seemingly work fewer hours than you do? Getting impatience and easily feeling frustrated with co-workers is an indication you might be exceeding certain limits.
Tips To Avoid Becoming A Workaholic
Time management
Time is one of your most important resources, spend it wisely. This might mean declining non-essential meetings or dedicating time in your calendar to accomplishing one specific task. A
quick procrastination break every now and then never hurt anyone, set end goals to keep your productivity in check.
Delegation
Learning how to delegate tasks is important. You do not need to do everything yourself. To start, know what requires your expertise and what doesn’t. Understand your strengths and make good use of them.
Finally, be honest about what you can take on. If you feel overwhelmed, be willing to say no or ask for help.
Clear boundaries
Work fluctuates, there will be times when you have to stay late, perhaps work a Saturday or return an email in the wee hours. But don’t make this a habit. Remember why you’re working in the first place. If you don’t want to find yourself in the “live to work” group, create clear boundaries. This may mean leaving by 5 or 6 pm each evening, no matter what, or blocking time to work out during your lunch break.
Being a workaholic is not a healthy thing for your mental as well as physical well-being. The earlier you realize it the better it would be. Striking a balance in everything you do is imperative. “If you do work that you love, and the work fulfils you, the rest will come.” ~ Oprah Winfrey.
Are you too a workaholic? Do let us know in the comments section below.
Author: Dr Pooja Nilgar (Content writer and editor)
References
- Součková, M., Vaculík, M. and Procházka, J., 2014. Personality traits and workaholism. International Journal of Humanities and Social Science, 4(14), pp.70-79.
- Buelens, M. and Poelmans, S.A., 2004. Enriching the Spence and Robbins’ typology of workaholism: Demographic, motivational and organizational correlates. Journal of organizational change management.
- Scottl, K.S., Moore, K.S. and Miceli, M.P., 1997. An exploration of the meaning and consequences of workaholism. Human relations, 50(3), pp.287-314.
