Do you feel like a workaholic? Workaholism is an addiction and your work
habits dont affect you and you alone. "It's damaging to family and other
outside relationships", says Cary Cooper an occupational psychologist.
God Bless and Peace Be Upon All.
Alasana Bah
>All Work and No Play Is Bad for Your Health
>
>Workaholism Can Cause Mental, Physical Problems
>
>By Denise Mann
>WebMD Medical News
>
>May 5, 2000 (New York) -- We all know at least one: The techie who works 12
>hours a day at a dot-com start-up. The lawyer who sweats every last detail
>of
>every last contract. The store owner who hasn't taken a vacation in 10
>years.
>The doctor who spends every free moment in the lab. The stockbroker whose
>heart rate fluctuates with the Nasdaq.
>
>Workaholics come in all shapes and sizes, and the health-related problems
>associated with work addiction cost an estimated $150 billion per year.
>Still, 30 years after the term "workaholic" was coined, no clear definition
>exists.
>
>One thing is clear, though: More research is needed on the physical and
>psychological effects of work addiction on the worker and his or her
>family,
>Bryan E. Robinson, PhD, writes in an article in the Journal of Employment
>Counseling. Interventions are also needed to recognize work addiction and
>find ways to deal with it, says Robinson, a professor of counseling,
>special
>education, and child development at the University of North Carolina at
>Charlotte.
>
>"Workaholism is a very serious problem. It's a compulsive disorder that not
>only affects the workaholic but also his/her family, and their workplace,"
>Robinson tells WebMD. But rarely have researchers taken a hard scientific
>look at the human effects of this often-misunderstood issue.
>
>Early research suggests that workaholics are more likely to be depressed,
>anxious, and angry than their nonworkaholic counterparts. They also tend to
>have more health complaints.
>
>The chronic stress of constant work can lead to significant physical and
>mental health problems, Redford B. Williams, MD, tells WebMD. Williams is
>director of the Behavioral Medicine Research Center at the Duke University
>Medical Center in Durham, N.C.
>
>"They are always trying to succeed, and if they begin to perceive that
>their
>rewards, whether pay increase or promotion, are not commensurate with how
>hard they are trying, they begin to experience high stress and its related
>health problems," Williams says.
>
>High stress can lead to high blood pressure, which is a risk factor for
>heart
>disease and heart attack. In addition, stress takes a toll on the immune
>system, making workaholics more vulnerable to other illnesses. In Japan,
>10,000 workers a year drop dead at their desks as a result of 60- to
>70-hour
>work weeks, a phenomenon known as karoshi.
>
>But it's not just the workaholics who are affected. Their spouses often
>report feeling ignored and resort to attention-seeking measures to get
>their
>partners to notice them, while children often report being resentful of a
>workaholic parent, Robinson explains. "Children are affected by parental
>work
>addiction in ways that are mentally unhealthy and can cause problems well
>into young adulthood," he writes.
>
>In a soon-to-be-published study of 1,000 women, Robinson found that those
>who
>were married to workaholics had higher divorce rates, greater rates of
>marital estrangement, fewer positive feelings about their marriage, and
>felt
>less in control of their lives and marriages. The study is to appear later
>this year in the American Journal of Family Therapy.
>
>These are some of the reasons counselors and therapists need to "consider
>the
>devastating effects of workaholism in the workplace and in the family,
>screen
>for it just as alcoholism is screened, and be prepared to intervene,"
>Robinson writes. In addition, he says, managers need guidelines to identify
>workaholics.
>
>"The workplace does not create workaholism, the same way a bar does not
>create alcoholism -- but it does enable it," says Robinson, the author of
>"Chained to the Desk: A Guidebook for Workaholics, Their Partners, Their
>Children and the Clinicians Who Treat Them."
>
>One preventive measure employers and managers could take would be to hold
>seminars on healthy working vs. workaholism, how to avoid job stress, and
>the
>importance of the healthy balance between career and family, he says.
>
>Research is crucial to help develop a better definition of a workaholic,
>Robinson writes. For example, the research on work addiction so far has
>mostly ignored women. "As women have entered more positions of authority in
>the corporate hierarchy, the prevalence of work addiction among women has
>increased.".
>
>
>
>Vital Information:
>
>Workaholism has not been extensively researched and does not have a clear,
>clinical definition, but it can be a serious problem.
>A person who is addicted to work may experience depression, anxiety, anger,
>high blood pressure, and a weakened immune system as a result of the high
>stress.
>Spouses and children can also be affected, with workaholics having a higher
>divorce rate than others.
>
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