In every company there are people who are very committed to their work, to achieving goals and giving their best every day. That is not bad at all, since being committed to our job is something very positive. However, there is a difference between this attitude that we are discussing and an addiction. In this article we will talk about the workaholic or the person who applies a lot at work.
This term is commonly used to describe the person who focuses a lot on work, but without being aware that it is a psychological condition that has a series of consequences. In this post we want to break down this term and help HR professionals to detect the workaholics that are in their company, in order to help them.
Are you interested in this topic? Keep reading!
What is meant by Workaholic?
A workaholic or person who applies a lot at work refers to a principle of addiction. Basically, it is a psychological state in which a person is totally dedicated to his work activity, becoming his absolute priority. Do you work all the time without anyone pressuring you to do so? Be careful.
The consequences of being a workaholic or a person who applies a lot at work are many, and it is that this psychological state ends up influencing the physical and mental health of the sufferer, fully affecting their friendships and family relationships. Even so, it is not entirely correct to call it “work addiction”. Because? Let’s explain it in detail.
There is no reference as such in the diagnostic manuals used in clinical psychology and psychiatry. That means that it is not an addiction like, for example, alcoholism or gambling. These addictions are very serious and do not usually disappear without professional intervention. On the other hand, workaholics can stop being so over time.
How do we identify a workaholic?
As a general rule, a workaholic presents a series of characteristics that make it recognizable. This information can be very useful in your work, but for HR departments it becomes vital information. And it is that a person who applies a lot to work needs a road map with which to achieve a healthy relationship with her job.
In this way, these are the characteristics through which we can identify a workaholic :
-
You constantly think about work, emphasizing your performance.
-
He doesn’t take an afternoon off as he looks for different ways to work outside of working hours.
-
As a result of the previous point, it is a person who spends more hours than those stipulated by contract.
-
He is among the best workers in the company. This, obviously, is one of the consequences that results from the hours he invests in work.
Symptoms of a workaholic
What if I am the person who suspects that I suffer from this addiction to work? There are also ways to detect it, although you will first have to do a sincere and exhaustive analysis of your behaviours, habits, and emotions. If you identify with any of the following points, it is time for you to seek help:
- You like to get to the office early and leave last.
-
You do not take any kind of break during your workday, reaching the point of eating at your desk.
-
When you spend time with people outside your work, you only talk about your job, your bosses, your colleagues or your salary. This is another of the symptoms that shows that you are becoming a workaholic.
-
When you are on vacation, you get irritated and nervous. You cannot be away from the daily maelstrom that work entails.
-
You prioritize work over personal plans.
-
You have physical problems such as exhaustion, constant headaches or gastrointestinal problems.
-
You don’t know how to delegate.
-
You are not able to recognize that you have a serious problem.
Consequences of being a workaholic
Throughout this article, we have been commenting that being a workaholic has a series of consequences for health, both physical and mental, but what consequences are we talking about? Basically, we can summarize them in three:
-
Insomnia: When we maintain a high level of activity, we do not allow our brain to relax, which results in insomnia.
-
Stress and anxiety: The person who applies himself a lot at work can present stress problems, anxiety and even depression since he will never be happy with the performance he offers.
-
Obesity and other similar problems: The more we stay at work, the less we move and suffer more anxiety. This can lead to uncontrolled food intake and a lack of physical exercise.
You may be interested in reading about…
