Workaholic
Encyclopedia
A workaholic is a person who is addicted
to work.
The term generally implies that the person enjoys their work; it can also imply that they simply feel compelled to do it. There is no generally accepted medical definition of such a condition, although some forms of stress
, obsessive-compulsive personality disorder
and obsessive-compulsive disorder
can be work-related.
Workaholism is not the same as working hard. Despite logging in an extraordinary amount of hours and sacrificing their health and loved ones for their jobs, workaholics are frequently ineffective employees.
According to William Safire
, the term was coined by Wayne Oates
in 1968.
In his nationally syndicated column entitled America intoxicated by trendy words,
James J. Kilpatrick
called the term workaholic an "abominable coinage".
The term gained widespread use in the 1990s, as the result of a wave of the self-help
movement that centered on addiction, forming an analogy between harmful social behaviors such as over-work and drug addiction, including addiction to alcohol
.
Experts say the incessant work-related activity masks anxiety, low self-esteem, and intimacy problems. And as with addictions to alcohol, drugs or gambling, workaholics' denial and destructive behavior will persist despite feedback from loved ones or danger signs such as deteriorating relationships. Poor health is another warning sign. Because there's less of a social stigma attached to workaholism than to other addictions, health symptoms can easily go undiagnosed or unrecognized, say researchers.
Clinical researcher Professor Bryan Robinson identifies two axes for workaholics: work initiation and work completion. He associates the behavior of procrastination
with both "Savoring Workaholics" (those with low work initiation/low work completion) and "Attention-Deficit Workaholics" - those with high work initiation and low work completion, in contrast to "Bulimic" and "Relentless" workaholics - both of whom have high work completion.
Workaholism in Japan
is considered a serious social problem leading to early death, often on the job, a phenomenon dubbed karōshi
. Overwork was popularly blamed for the fatal stroke
of Prime Minister of Japan
Keizō Obuchi
, in the year 2000.
In the U.S., and Canada workaholism remains what it's always been: the so-called "respectable addiction" that's dangerous as any other. "Yes, workaholism is an addiction, an obsessive-compulsive disorder, and it's not the same as working hard" says Bryan Robinson, PhD, one of the leading researchers on this disorder. Workaholic's obsession with work is all-occupying, which prevents workaholics from maintaining healthy relationships, outside interests, or even take measures to protect their health.
Workaholics feel the urge of being busy all the time, to the point that they often perform tasks that aren't required or necessary for project completion. As a result, they tend to be inefficient workers, since they focus on being busy, instead of focusing on being productive. In addition, workaholics tend to be less effective than other workers because it's difficult for them to be team players, they have trouble delegating or entrusting co-workers, or they take on so much that they aren't as organized as others. Furthermore, workaholics often suffer sleep deprivation
which results in impaired brain and cognitive function.
As with other psychological addictions, workaholics are often unable to see that they have a problem. Confronting the workaholic will generally meet with denial. Co-workers, family members and friends may need to engage in some type of an intervention to communicate the effects of the workaholic’s behavior on them. Indeed, mental treatment to cure a workaholic can successfully reduce the hours spent on the job, while increasing the person's productivity. Studies show that fully recovered former workaholics are able to accomplish in 50 hours what they previously couldn't do in 80.
Related:
Behavioral addiction
Behavioral addiction is a form of addiction which does not rely on drugs or alcohol. Increasingly referred to as process addiction or non-substance-related addiction ) behavioral addiction includes a compulsion to repeatedly engage in an action until said action causes serious negative consequences...
to work.
The term generally implies that the person enjoys their work; it can also imply that they simply feel compelled to do it. There is no generally accepted medical definition of such a condition, although some forms of stress
Stress (medicine)
Stress is a term in psychology and biology, borrowed from physics and engineering and first used in the biological context in the 1930s, which has in more recent decades become commonly used in popular parlance...
, obsessive-compulsive personality disorder
Obsessive-compulsive personality disorder
Obsessive–compulsive personality disorder is a personality disorder characterized by a pervasive pattern of preoccupation with orderliness, perfectionism, and mental and interpersonal control at the expense of flexibility, openness, and efficiency.- Signs and symptoms :The primary symptoms of OCPD...
and obsessive-compulsive disorder
Obsessive-compulsive disorder
Obsessive–compulsive disorder is an anxiety disorder characterized by intrusive thoughts that produce uneasiness, apprehension, fear, or worry, by repetitive behaviors aimed at reducing the associated anxiety, or by a combination of such obsessions and compulsions...
can be work-related.
Workaholism is not the same as working hard. Despite logging in an extraordinary amount of hours and sacrificing their health and loved ones for their jobs, workaholics are frequently ineffective employees.
Etymology
The word itself is a portmanteau word composed of work and alcoholic.According to William Safire
William Safire
William Lewis Safire was an American author, columnist, journalist and presidential speechwriter....
, the term was coined by Wayne Oates
Wayne Oates
Wayne Edward Oates was an American psychologist and religious educator who coined the word 'workaholic'.Born to a poor family in Greenville, South Carolina in June 1917, Oates was abandoned by his father in infancy and was brought up by his grandmother and sister while his mother supported them by...
in 1968.
In his nationally syndicated column entitled America intoxicated by trendy words,
James J. Kilpatrick
James J. Kilpatrick
James Jackson Kilpatrick was an American editorial columnist and grammarian. He was a legal abstractionist, a social conservative, and an economic libertarian according to Harvard ....
called the term workaholic an "abominable coinage".
The term gained widespread use in the 1990s, as the result of a wave of the self-help
Self-help
Self-help, or self-improvement, is a self-guided improvement—economically, intellectually, or emotionally—often with a substantial psychological basis. There are many different self-help movements and each has its own focus, techniques, associated beliefs, proponents and in some cases, leaders...
movement that centered on addiction, forming an analogy between harmful social behaviors such as over-work and drug addiction, including addiction to alcohol
Alcohol
In chemistry, an alcohol is an organic compound in which the hydroxy functional group is bound to a carbon atom. In particular, this carbon center should be saturated, having single bonds to three other atoms....
.
Details
Although the term workaholic usually has a negative connotation, it is sometimes used by people wishing to express their devotion to one's career in positive terms. The "work" in question is usually associated with a paying job, but it may also refer to independent pursuits such as sports, music and art. A workaholic in the negative sense is popularly characterized by a neglect of family and other social relations.Experts say the incessant work-related activity masks anxiety, low self-esteem, and intimacy problems. And as with addictions to alcohol, drugs or gambling, workaholics' denial and destructive behavior will persist despite feedback from loved ones or danger signs such as deteriorating relationships. Poor health is another warning sign. Because there's less of a social stigma attached to workaholism than to other addictions, health symptoms can easily go undiagnosed or unrecognized, say researchers.
Clinical researcher Professor Bryan Robinson identifies two axes for workaholics: work initiation and work completion. He associates the behavior of procrastination
Procrastination
In psychology, procrastination refers to the act of replacing high-priority actions with tasks of low-priority, and thus putting off important tasks to a later time...
with both "Savoring Workaholics" (those with low work initiation/low work completion) and "Attention-Deficit Workaholics" - those with high work initiation and low work completion, in contrast to "Bulimic" and "Relentless" workaholics - both of whom have high work completion.
Workaholism in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
is considered a serious social problem leading to early death, often on the job, a phenomenon dubbed karōshi
Karoshi
, which can be translated literally from Japanese as "death from overwork", is occupational sudden death. Although this category has a significant count, Japan is one of the few countries that reports it in the statistics as a separate category...
. Overwork was popularly blamed for the fatal stroke
Stroke
A stroke, previously known medically as a cerebrovascular accident , is the rapidly developing loss of brain function due to disturbance in the blood supply to the brain. This can be due to ischemia caused by blockage , or a hemorrhage...
of Prime Minister of Japan
Prime Minister of Japan
The is the head of government of Japan. He is appointed by the Emperor of Japan after being designated by the Diet from among its members, and must enjoy the confidence of the House of Representatives to remain in office...
Keizō Obuchi
Keizo Obuchi
was a Japanese politician who served in the House of Representatives for twelve terms, and ultimately as the 84th Prime Minister of Japan from July 30, 1998 to April 5, 2000. His political career ended when he suffered a serious and ultimately fatal stroke....
, in the year 2000.
In the U.S., and Canada workaholism remains what it's always been: the so-called "respectable addiction" that's dangerous as any other. "Yes, workaholism is an addiction, an obsessive-compulsive disorder, and it's not the same as working hard" says Bryan Robinson, PhD, one of the leading researchers on this disorder. Workaholic's obsession with work is all-occupying, which prevents workaholics from maintaining healthy relationships, outside interests, or even take measures to protect their health.
Workaholics feel the urge of being busy all the time, to the point that they often perform tasks that aren't required or necessary for project completion. As a result, they tend to be inefficient workers, since they focus on being busy, instead of focusing on being productive. In addition, workaholics tend to be less effective than other workers because it's difficult for them to be team players, they have trouble delegating or entrusting co-workers, or they take on so much that they aren't as organized as others. Furthermore, workaholics often suffer sleep deprivation
Sleep deprivation
Sleep deprivation is the condition of not having enough sleep; it can be either chronic or acute. A chronic sleep-restricted state can cause fatigue, daytime sleepiness, clumsiness and weight loss or weight gain. It adversely affects the brain and cognitive function. Few studies have compared the...
which results in impaired brain and cognitive function.
As with other psychological addictions, workaholics are often unable to see that they have a problem. Confronting the workaholic will generally meet with denial. Co-workers, family members and friends may need to engage in some type of an intervention to communicate the effects of the workaholic’s behavior on them. Indeed, mental treatment to cure a workaholic can successfully reduce the hours spent on the job, while increasing the person's productivity. Studies show that fully recovered former workaholics are able to accomplish in 50 hours what they previously couldn't do in 80.
See also
- Work-leisure dichotomyWork-leisure dichotomyThe work–leisure dichotomy is the conceptual separation of activities in a society. Some societies assume, for the large part of the population which is in a condition of employee, a separation between "work" and "leisure". This idea was invented with the industrial revolution...
- Money-rich, time-poorMoney-rich, time-poorMoney-rich, time-poor is an expression which arose in Britain at the end of the 20th century to describe groups of people who, whilst having a high disposable income through well-paid employment, have relatively little leisure time as a result....
- Work-life balanceWork-life balanceWork–life balance is a broad concept including proper prioritizing between "work" on the one hand and "life" on the other. Related, though broader, terms include "lifestyle balance" and "life balance".-History:The work-leisure dichotomy was invented in the mid 1800s...
- Workplace stressWorkplace stressWorkplace stress is the harmful physical and emotional response that occurs when there is a poor match between job demands and the capabilities, resources, or needs of the worker....
- PresenteeismPresenteeismPresenteeism is the act of attending work while sick. A topic that is at times considered its opposite, absenteeism, has historically received extensive attention in the management sciences, but presenteeism has only recently found a place in the research literature...
- DownshiftingDownshiftingDownshifting is a social behavior or trend in which individuals live simpler lives to escape from the rat race of obsessive materialism and to reduce the “stress, overtime, and psychological expense that may accompany it.” It emphasizes finding an improved balance between leisure and work and...
Related:
- Superwoman (sociology)Superwoman (sociology)In sociology the term superwoman has been used to describe a Western woman who works hard to manage multiple roles of a worker, a homemaker, a volunteer, a student etc...
- Protestant work ethicProtestant work ethicThe Protestant work ethic is a concept in sociology, economics and history, attributable to the work of Max Weber...
- Workaholics AnonymousWorkaholics AnonymousWorkaholics Anonymous is a twelve-step program for people identifying themselves as "powerless over compulsive work, worry, or activity" including, but not limited to, workaholics–including overworkers and those who suffer from unmanageable procrastination or work aversion. Anybody with a desire...
- Internet addiction disorderInternet addiction disorderInternet addiction disorder , or, more broadly, Internet overuse, problematic computer use or pathological computer use, is excessive computer use that interferes with daily life...
- Work aversionWork aversionWork aversion is the state of being turned off by working or being employed, or the extreme preference of leisure as opposed to work. It can be attributed to laziness, boredom, or burnout, most underachievers suffer from some work aversion.-Causes:Work aversion usually occurs in persons who have...
- Power harassmentPower harassmentPower harassment is harassment or unwelcome attention of a political nature, often occurring in the environment of a workplace including hospitals, schools and universities. It includes a range of behavior from mild irritation and annoyances to serious abuses which can even involve forced activity...