Are you a workaholic?
Where does job satisfaction end and workaholism begin? An overview of today's International Workaholics Day.
Highly motivated employees please every employer - but excessive working can make you ill. Those who are exclusively occupied with their work can suffer psychological and physical damage. Thanks to cell phones, tablets and laptops, work is increasingly intruding into the private sphere - those who do not consciously protect themselves may be tempted to continue working in their free time, on weekends and even during vacations.
This can have serious consequences: The social life disintegrates, depression, burn-out and cardiovascular disorders threaten.
But what distinguishes someone who works with enthusiasm from a workaholic? Norwegian researchers from the University of Bergen have defined specific symptoms and created a scale in which those affected can assess their degree of work addiction. Seven criteria are decisive here:
- Are you constantly thinking about how to create more time for work?
- Are you spending more time working than planned?
- Do you work to repress negative feelings such as anxiety, guilt, or depression?
- Are you being asked by colleagues, friends or family to work less - but not listening?
- Do you feel stressed when you are kept from working?
- Do you prioritize work over hobbies, leisure activities, socializing, and physical activity?
- Do you work so much that it negatively affects your health?
Anyone who answers four or more criteria with "frequently" or "always" is at risk of being affected by work addiction. High time to pull the emergency brake!
In therapy, sufferers can learn to detach themselves from work and rediscover their work-life balance.
