Norwegian scientists analyzed a co-relation between work addiction and psychiatric problems among more than 16 thousand working people. They found out that spending too much time working is bad for health.
Workaholics display more symptoms of mental disorders
Clinical psychologist Cecilie Schou Andreassen points out that workaholics have more deviations related to psychiatric problems than people who are not addicted to their jobs, Science Daily reports.
The scholars found that:
- 32.7% of workaholics have warning signs of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. It is much less among regular workers — 12.7%.
- 25.6% of workaholics suffer from obsessive-compulsive disorder (8.7% of ordinary workers).
- 33.8% of workaholics experience anxiety disorders (11.9% of ordinary workers).
- 8.9% of workaholics have symptoms of depression, and only 2.6% of the workers who are not so passionate about their jobs.
The researchers suggest that work addiction can indicate a presence of psychological and emotional problems. However, they still can not answer whether such problems are caused by workaholism or may be work addiction occurs due to the presence of some mental or psychological disorders.
The ability to say “No” to work could be extremely important in today’s world of technologies when you’re always online and easily accessible in case of additional work.
7 symptoms of workaholics
Professionals point out 7 symptoms indicating that a person is addicted to work.
You can also analyze your working behavior by rating the following statements on a scale from 1 (never) to 5 (permanently):
- You want to find more hours for work.
- You work much longer than previously wanted.
- Working helps you to get rid of feelings of guilt, anxiety or depression.
- People ask you to allocate more free time, but you ignore their advice.
- You have a feeling of anxiety, if you can not work.
- You value your work more than hobbies or free time activities.
- Long working hours have a negative impact on your physical and mental state.
If you got 4 (often) or 5 points (permanently) on 4 or more statements, you can consider yourself a workaholic.
Cecilie Andreassen underlines the need for more studies on the connections between neurobiological abnormalities and workaholism for the effective detection and treatment of such deviations.
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According to this article, i am definetely a workaholic. I enjoy spending holidays working and studying. A few days ago i had important exams so my relatives were worried about my health, i even didn’t talk to them 🙂 But i didn’t get any tired!
What is the reason for such an attitude towards workaholism? I think no matter how successful workaholic may seem , it is difficult to name him a harmoniously developed personality? Beside, a direct consequence of workaholism is almost inevitable difficulties in the family.
according to this article I am a workaholic. On the one hand it is good when the person has a favourite business which carries away him. But whether there has to be it to the detriment of a family? no. I catch myself on thought that recently on vacation with a family I can’t relax and I think of work.
I’m not a workaholic but I love to work and leave time for self-improvement – it makes me really happy, when I’ll do all tasks, that I planned for each day. But I don’t think, that being a workaholic is so bad! Some people falling in love with their jobs and want to do it again and again – it’s really cool!
I would like to say it was really interesting, I thought that I am a workaholic, and this article proved it. But now I am not going to change my lifestyle and I want to work as much as possible even on my vacation to get and save more money for my plans.
Oh, I’m a workaholic. And as I see the other comments we all are workaholics. But I think it is natural for our time. It is a time of individuals. We must work and work and work to get money, to have possibility to live. It’s terrible but it is a fact.
Much depends on whether you like your job or not. When people really enjoy their jobs, work problems are unlikely to cause any mental disorders. The problem is fatigue that affect both physical and mental state. We should learn to find balance between work and leisure to protect ourselves from psychiatric deviations.
Well, I’m a workaholic too? I would never thought that I’m that one! Recently I’ve understood that I feel better if I work or complete some tasks, because I feel myself much more satisfied. And your symptoms helped me to understand that I’m not mistaken.
I adore my job. But I am not a workaholic. My job helps me to earn money, but this place takes away my time. After work I prefer to have a rest, but not to work till midnight. I spend a lot of time with my best friends and never ignore them. It helps me feel happy and alive.