Workaholism manifests itself in the fact that when you cannot work, you feel unhappy. Workaholism accompanies you even on vacation, when the first thing you do after entering the hotel is turning on wi-fi. Workaholism makes your leisure time a pain, not a pleasure. See what are the symptoms of workaholism and how to treat it. Take our workaholism test too!

Workaholismis a behavioral addiction that causes a person to feel a constant inner need to work. For a person suffering fromworkaholismfamily, former interests and even physiological needs, such as sleep or sex, are only on the next places in the hierarchy of importance.

Contents:

  1. Workaholism: symptoms
  2. Workaholism: treatment
  3. Workaholism test

Like other vacationers, the person suffering from workaholism lies on the beach, swims, even plays with the child, but the ghost is still at work. He constantly thinks and talks about her. On any pretext, he disappears into a hotel room. He conferences on a business phone, e-mails, works on a project.

He can't forget about the company for a week and enjoy his free time. Therefore, it is easiest to observe workaholism in someone or at home on vacation. Workaholism is a behavioral addiction, i.e. related to the need to perform a certain activity repeatedly.

Workaholism: symptoms

If you notice the following behavior in yourself or in a loved one, be sure to take a longer vacation. Perhaps it will save you from falling into a workaholism or make you realize that you are addicted to work and need treatment.

You may suffer from workaholism if:

  • You are thinking of working in your spare time, e.g. on a Sunday.
  • You have your work cell on all the time, as there may be an urgent call from the company.
  • You sleep badly.
  • Your physical and mental well-being worsens during the weekends, and it improves on Monday.
  • You do not delegate tasks to others, because you think that you will do it best.
  • During social gatherings you only talk about work, other topics bore you.

"Karoshi" is the Japanese term for death from overwork.

  • You come to work sick, although you are aware of the he alth implications this may have.
  • When asked by your relatives, when you return from work, you always answer the same: "I don't know, but it's late".
  • You don't have time for your loved ones or to pursue your passions.
  • Even though you are working all the time, you feel dissatisfied with your job.
  • You worry about every mistake you make at work.
  • You give up your leave of your own free will.
Worth knowing

Poles work almost the most in the world. We are close to Mexicans

1928 hours - this is how much a Pole worked on average in 2022, which allowed us to rank 7th among the busiest nations in the world and 2nd among European nations that work the most (only Greece with 2,035 hours spent in work per year)

Mexicans work the longest in the world, working about 2,255 hours a year. The residents of Russia, South Korea, Costa Rica and Chile also spend more time at work.

1928 hours - this is how much a Pole worked on average in 2022, which allowed us to rank 7th among the busiest nations. Mexicans work the longest in the world, working about 2,255 hours a year. Costa Rican, South Koreans, Greeks, Russians and Chileans also spend more time at work than us.

Germany spends the least amount of time at work (only 1,363 hours a year). Our other neighbors also work less than Poles, for example Lithuanians (1,885 hours), Czechs (1,770 hours) and Slovaks (1,740).

Workaholism: the difference between a workaholic and a person who likes to work

Work enthusiastPerson suffering from workaholism
He works because he wants to.Feels a mental compulsion to work.
He is very pleased with the work.Has low job satisfaction. His effects do not satisfy him, he always thinks that they could be better.
He separates his private life from his professional life and pays a lot of attention to both of these spheres.He devotes more time to his professional life. He prefers them to personal ones, which sometimes doesn't exist at all.
For him, work is not a determinant of his own value. Failures in carrying out assigned tasks anger him, but they do not cause low self-esteem.Work gives him self-esteem. If he fails to perform it perfectly, it causes such a huge increase in stress and self-dissatisfaction that the consequence of this is low self-esteem.
Finds time to rest. Does not exceed 50 hours of work per week.Works more than 50 hours a week.
Worth knowing

Do you suspect you are workaholic? See what you can do for yourself

1. Treat the vacation as a business task and do your best to make the family happy with the vacation.

2. Do not take your work cell phone and laptop with you. If you are unable to part with them, limit their use yourself and increase them with the passing of your vacation.

3. Observe yourself, write down how you feel physically and mentally when you are not working. If, despite your best efforts, your vacation was a nightmare, seek help from a psychotherapist. You can cure yourself of workaholism.

Workaholism: treatment

Workaholics rarely seek help from therapists - this happens in extreme situations, when they are forced to do so by a he alth situation or a worried family. Cognitive behavioral therapy is most often used to treat workaholism.

One of its elements may be establishing a day plan with the psychotherapist in which work does not play a major role. A lot of emphasis is placed on a clear separation of free time and that devoted to professional matters, as well as defining specific hours devoted to performing specific activities.

A person suffering from workaholism during therapy also learns to understand and express their emotions, develops their ability to control and learns full self-acceptance, not dependent on the results of work.

Watch out for bad habits at work!

Workaholism test

Below we present a test, the solution of which will help you determine whether what you are facing is an addiction, i.e. workaholism, or if you happily have not reached this stage (yet).

You can choose from three answers to each of the questions: "never", "sometimes", "always". Write down each one and then add up the results.

1.I give the impression of a person who is in a hurry all the time and has not enough time for anything.2.Contrary to my coworkers, I don't like to leave work on time, I prefer to finish my task, even if it means staying at work after hours.3.Even when I'm at home, I think about work. I can't concentrate on playing with children, preparing a meal. I feel the tension and the feeling of having to continue my professional project at home.4.I work from home, even if no one asks me to - I feel guilty when I don't check my e-mail every now and then etc.5.I can't relax after work.6.I devote more thoughts to professional issuesthan family - at weekends I work more willingly than take part in family celebrations.7.I get nervous if other people at work do not pay as much attention to fulfilling their professional duties as I do.8.I prefer to do the work on my own than wait for the help of the other person.9.I get nervous if the person with whom he cooperates does not fulfill his duties quickly and even forgets about his10.I put myself under time pressure when I have a job to do.11.I don't spend too much time eating and drinking - at work, I eat what I have at hand, which is not always he althy. I usually eat and work at the same time.12.Planning and setting professional goals is more important to me than focusing on what is happening at the moment.13.Every mistake I make at work depresses me a lot.14.I get confused when I find myself in a situation that I have no control over. It takes me a long time to tame my nerves, to think about what to do next.15.I don't like when someone interrupts my work - it makes me very irritated.

Results

Most "always" answers

You are most likely addicted to work. You've probably noticed yourself that - if you have a family - your marriage is not in its prime right now, you don't spend a lot of time with your children, and when you do, it's usually accompanied by nervousness. If you are single - you don't want to waste time looking for a partner.

Workaholism not only harms your physical he alth (lack of time to exercise, too long doing the same work), but also mental he alth - the effects of stress include weakening the immune system, exacerbation of rheumatoid arthritis, diabetes, ulcerative colitis .

Analyze the above questions and your answers carefully and think about what you can change yourself. In the case of workaholism, i.e. addiction, the best solution will be to use the help of a psychotherapist - do not be afraid of evaluation, the specialist has already cooperated with many patients, and his task is not to criticize, but to help.

Most replies "sometimes"

Your attention is too focused on your work - especially compared to the time you spend with your family or the development of your hobby. It's not a workaholism yet, but if you don't start to devote more time to your relationships with loved ones, this may be the end of it. Try to limit the time you spend working for rest, moments with your family.

Most "never" answers

Most likelyWorkaholism does not concern you - you know how to distinguish between professional and private life, keeping he althy proportions between them. Keep it up!

Remember that the workaholism test below is only advisory and will not replace a visit to a psychologist.

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Category:

Psychology