Workaholics Essays Example

Introduction

A workaholic is a person addicted to work and forgoes other pursuits just for work. In other words, it is a person who cannot do without work. Paul and Thorpe define a workaholic as a person whose usual life has been distorted due to too much work. Working hard is a nice thing and should be encouraged, but working at the expense of forfeiting one's social life is a thing that should be discouraged. Human beings are social animals and socializing should be a priority to every human being. Workaholics can be assumed to be great investments for an employee, but on the same line, they make work difficult than it may seem (Evan and Robyn 2006). They refuse to delegate work, and they have problematic relationships with their co-workers. Furthermore, work addicted people have traits such as a planned way of doing things, not easily changing of mind and hunger for success (Mudrack, 2004). In this essay, the life of workaholics, causes of workaholism, effects of workaholism and the cure for workaholism are discussed.
Workaholism is caused by beliefs inside a person that makes them always want to do more and more to satisfy their low self-esteem (Evan and Robyn 2006). Majorly, it is a condition mainly found in people who set a target of perfection. Such people believe that all they do should be perfect and nothing less. Economic conditions can also make a person become a workaholic. Bleak economic conditions may make a person to work round the clock to meet the demands of the economy in addition to companies that are on the decline are likely to cause workaholism in their employees, who in that case will put in more effort to sail the company to the height it was.
Emotional conditions and psychological problems can also make a person to be workaholic. People who are in grief may use the work to occupy their minds so that they forget their problems (Guthrie, 2001). Work to such people is the only way to withdraw from the ideal world and stay far from their problems.

Types of workaholics

Brian Robinson outlines ways of identifying workaholics. Workaholics may have a blend of these symptoms or experience different symptoms at different times in their lives (Robinson 2001). It ends up affecting their lives negatively.

Bulimic workaholic

Such workaholics believe in doing perfect work. They believe they have to do the best or do nothing at all. They are a type of people who start up a project, then rush to beat a deadline; usually they do not have the guts to accept a work not well done (Mudrack, 2004).

Relentless workaholic

These are a type of people who always believe they are late. They always have the feeling that they should have started an assignment much earlier. Such people find solace in approval from other people around them (Mudrack, 2004).

Attention-deficit workaholics

These are outgoing people who are always willing to try out new things. They also get bored fast and never mind leaving a project half done. These types of people are always trying out new things and are great risk takers at work. They are very poor when it comes to following up on projects, and as such leave them half done (Mudrack, 2004).

Savoring workaholics

These individuals never believe they can complete an assignment (Evan and Robyn 2006). They always feel they have left something out and as such, create more work in a bid to get their job done. There are several ways in which we can identify workaholics and their characteristics may be closely related to that of hard workers, but there is a distinction between the two groups.

Workaholics possess the following characteristics:

Workaholics use work to withdraw themselves from the ideal world and hide from the daily routines or commitments. They submerge completely into work, unlike hard workers who spare some time off work to engage other people socially (Malchlowitz, 1980). They have an ailing social life. They value work at the expense of their families, friends, and relatives. They do not put much consideration in interactions, but always emphasize on working. Workaholics set unachievable targets and try working to achieve them. They are adventurous and always willing to go an extra mile just in a bid to work. Workaholics can never stop working, they always think about work and whenever they break from work their minds are always in adventure in what assignment they have to engage in next; their mind is always thinking about work (Mudrack, 2004).

How to quit from workaholism

Workaholism, like any other addiction, has many challenges incurred in attending to it. A close associate or relative of the workaholic may be required to intervene so as to initiate the rehabilitation process. The first cause of workaholism should be established by taking a look at the individual’s background life (Robinson, 2001). Reasons of workaholism may vary from an individual taking up that central role of taking care of the family at an early age to coming from a family where the parents are alcoholics. In a process of avoiding being like their parent, the workaholic withdraws from the ideal world by engaging in too much work. Workaholism may also be as a result of the belief in oneself that they cannot be loved for whom they are, but rather what they have. Such beliefs should be wiped from a workaholic and ensure that the fact that they can be loved for what they are also existing. When treating workaholism, sober working must be put into consideration. Balance should be restored to one’s life, and a distinction drawn between work and social life. Time should be set aside for interactions with the family and friends.
Secondly, the environment of the workaholic must be moderated. Those people who surround them should be assessed, and the establishment made on how they contribute to the condition of workaholism (Porter, 1996). The tension and the relationship must be put into consideration so that any factor that might aggravate that situation is done away. Rehabilitation will require the full support of the people living or surrounding the workaholic.
Rehabilitating workaholics is not an easy task though. The reason for it being difficult is because workaholism is explicit of other addictions such as drugs and alcohol. It, therefore, means that someone is not addicted to a particular substance, but a particular behavior. In cases of substance abuse, one has to stay completely away from the substance for rehabilitation, but in work, it is advised that one reduces their workload, and in the event, may end up still working excessively.
Secondly, work is held to high standards in the society; therefore, the keenness to treat addiction to something that is a virtue in the society is not that much unlike an addiction to illegal substances and drugs. As such, work addiction is not viewed as a negative thing, but a positive one and many do not see the need to treat it (Robinson, 2001).
In addition to that, workaholics live in self-denial and never accept that they exhibit abnormal behaviors as far as work is concerned. Most workaholics are treated of their effects from excessive work rather than the main problem of work addiction. Work addicted people should, therefore, seek rehabilitation from work addiction rather than medication for the effects. Lastly, workaholics are so much engrossed in their daily routines that they cannot even find time to seek counseling or therapy (Malchlowitz, 1981). In return, it is difficult to establish their conditions and subject them to a treatment program.

Conclusion

Workaholics are people who never feel they have done enough; their goal is to do as much work as possible without finding fun in their job. They are faced with trying to meet a performance goal that is a moving target (Porter, 1996). They always think what they have to do next. Effects of workaholism range from health to social disorders; they suffer from conditions such as insomnia, dizziness, digestion problems and short concentration spans. Socially, they show a lack of interest in building relationships with other human beings and the only thing they relate to most is their work. Treatment should involve the person themselves, as well as those people surrounding them offering moral support; one has to accept that he is suffering from work addiction and seek rehabilitation at the same instead of seeking medical treatment for the effects of the addiction. Those people surrounding a workaholic should offer as much support as possible so that the workaholic finds the need to rehabilitate.

References

Evan J. D and Robyn J. M. (2006). Workaholic, or just hard worker? Career development
International, Vol. 11 Issue no. 5 (2006): 394-417
Malchlowitz M. (1980). Workaholics, living with them, working with them; Reading Mass:
Addison-Wesley, 1980.
Mudrack P. E. (2004). Job Involvement, obsessive-compulsive personality traits and workaholic
behavioral tendencies: Emerald Group publishing Limited [2004].
Robinson E. B. (2001). Chained to the desk: a guide book for workaholics, their partners and
children, and clinicians who treat them. New York, N.Y: New York University Press, 2007.
Porter G. (1996). HRM Perspectives on addiction to technology and work. Journal of
Management development, Vol. 25 Issue no. 6 [2006]; 535-560.