In modern life, we often joke that people are addicted to their work. We’re all constantly switched on these days, after all, and we’re living in an age where most of us put in hours that are a lot longer than the traditional 9-5. But not many of us realise that work addiction is a real issue, and it can prove devastating to those affected.
Of course, that’s not to say that everyone who stays up late working more often than they should is experiencing a real and pressing addiction. However, it is entirely possible that you, or someone you know, is experiencing a work addiction without even realising it.
In this article, we’ll consider what work addiction is, how it manifests, and what you or your loved one can do to overcome this too-often hidden problem.
Work Addiction: The Facts
Work addiction has been a recognised issue since as far back as 1972, when Wayne Oates released a book that was aptly titled ‘Confessions of a Workaholic: Facts About Work Addiction’. Within this book, Oates referred to the compulsive need to work obsessively, which remains a large determining factor of work addiction.
More recently, literature has referred to a trend called ‘workaholism’, which describes many of the same attributes as work addiction. However, in today’s always-on world, workaholics, who are now thought to account for between 27-30% of the population, are referred to in a positive light thanks to their typically high workplace achievements and career determination.
Unfortunately, workaholism is far from a positive thing, and the impacts of this addiction can be every bit as devastating as those from drugs or alcohol. This is true even though workaholism is generally considered as socially acceptable. After all, just like with drugs or drinks, work praise and success create a buzz of adrenaline and endorphins. Work addicts constantly seek that high, often to the detriment of things like their friendships, relationships, and mental well-being.
Spotting the Signs Of Work Addiction
As mentioned, not every keen employee or committed worker is experiencing work addiction. Rather, the issue of workaholism refers to largely unhealthy habits around the process of working.
The signs of an active work addiction could include:
# 1 – Working Unnecessarily
According to this article at https://www.hrmagazine.co.uk, over half of UK employees work as much as 40 hours of overtime each month. This overtime is sometimes voluntary and can be necessary to finish a big project or get ahead in terms of promotion prospects. There’s nothing inherently wrong with this, but work addicts often take overtime to the extreme. Rather than simply staying behind to complete work on a dedicated project, a work addict will often keep working unnecessarily. This can take a few different forms, including excessively continuing to work on a project even once a manager has signed off on it, or feeling the obsessive need to get started on the next day’s work. A work addict may also create unnecessary projects that haven’t been requested, and don’t serve any useful purpose to their career itself.
# 2 – A Persistent Need to Work
As with any addiction, alcohol addiction often becomes manifest in a continual and persistent need to work. A work addict will struggle not to get stuck at work, even during their downtime, and may find themselves constantly checking their phones or, as mentioned above, working unnecessarily. More prevalently, a work addict will experience distress during periods when they aren’t working. This could make itself known through effects that could include jitteriness, increasing anxiety outside of work, or even mood swings and frustration.
# 3 – Putting Work Above Everything
It’s not unusual for work to encroach on our private lives more than many of us would like. However, it is unhealthy to actively prioritise work over things like personal relationships. A work addict will continually put work first, and may even stop making social arrangements or spending time with their families, to continue seeking the thrill they get from working well. This could lead to habits including spending extended periods alone in the office, locking themselves in a home study, or continually using their phones instead of paying attention when they do spend time around other people. This obsessive focus could also lead to issues in other areas of that person’s life, such as untidiness or escalating maintenance issues at home, divorce, and even issues with personal hygiene or other areas of self-care.
Working Through Work Addiction
Work addiction is an unfortunately unrecognised issue, especially in an age where workaholism is too often considered a good thing. However, if you recognise the warning signs we’ve mentioned in yourself or someone else, there are steps you can take to improve the situation.
The most important things you can do when working through work addiction include:
# 1 – Seek Professional Help
Addiction services like the ones available from https://addictionsuk.com are in place to help individuals dealing with all manner of addictive problems, including work addiction. While it’s always difficult to seek professional help, this is one of the best steps you can take to help yourself and could lead to detox plans, counselling, and a generally improved understanding of your addictive behaviours. Most work addicts benefit best from outpatient services, meaning you should be able to undergo treatment while remaining at home. However, professionals may recommend a break from work while you develop healthy coping mechanisms and an increased awareness around this issue.
# 2 – Speak to Your Boss
Many work addicts experience issues with authority, particularly when it comes to seeking approval and potentially debasing themselves around authority figures to achieve that. Many work addicts are even willing to compromise their values for the sake of their boss’ approval. For this reason, such individuals may be reluctant to discuss work addiction with their management team due to fears that it could impact their reputation or company standing. However, work addiction will be impossible to work through without the support of an informed manager. By arranging a meeting about this issue and being candid about how it impacts you, you can work with your boss to arrange things like necessary time off, and clearly outlined work cut-offs.
# 3 – Track Your Work Hours
In the same way that alcoholics don’t necessarily notice their drinking as it increases, many work addicts may be entirely unaware of how much time they actually spend in the office or working in other locations. Taking the time to track working hours can be a useful and eye-opening practice for overcoming this work blindness. Once an addict is working with therapists and their management team, having a clear record of hours worked can also help to reveal the scale of this addiction. It’ll then be easier to develop plans for incremental changes that can help bring those hours down in a healthy way.
Takeaway
Far from being a positive trait, workaholism can impact everything from self-care capabilities to private relationships. If you or anyone you know is always the last one left in the office, ask yourself – could you be experiencing a work addiction?
That’s never an easy question to answer, but doing so might help to start you on a recovery journey that could end up changing your life. The main thing to know is that, even if it feels like it, you aren’t alone in this. And, you certainly don’t need to stay stuck in that negative cycle for any longer than you already have.
