Workaholism: Causes And Consequences

Men Fashion

oi-Staff

By Staff

Thursday, March 11, 2010, 11:43

Work is central to the core of men's identities. It is your work that gives you status in the society; it is your work that helps you to fulfill your roles as a father and provider to the family. You work for few hours every day so that you along with your family can live sufficiently. But, what if you work the whole day even on weekends when all your friends chill out? There are certain people who prefer to work even after everyone left for the day. It is not because they want to prove themselves as more productive and sincere to the job, but they can't, but to work as they are affected with a serious addiction,

'workaholism'. If you are constantly preoccupied by work, you may be a workaholic. Compulsive overworking can be as self-destructive as other compulsive behaviors such as overeating, gambling or overspending. Workaholism can contribute to health problems, damage family relationships and lead to considerable inner turmoil.

"The Addictive Organization" describe a workaholic as someone "who has a compulsive need to work because it provides a tangible reinforcement of self-worth not found else where". A workaholic is a person who gradually becomes emotionally crippled arid addicted to control arid power in a compulsive drive to gain approval and success. The enjoyment and meaning may be gone from the job but the workaholic keeps on because he prefers working to anything else in his life. When not working he may be restless, uncomfortable and unhappy, having no idea what to do with himself. For a time, working may provide a feeling of pride in himself or a feeling of more energy and less anxiety, but as with the alcoholic, more "substance of choice", doesn't provide more happiness for the workaholic.

There's nothing wrong with success. It's nice to work hard and to achieve things. But, when a person becomes so focused on work that joy, happiness and positive personal fulfillment in one's personal and family life become smothered and die, then it's a major problem. A workaholic person's wife will start complain that her partner seem to prefer being at work than with the family. Children will feel that their father prefers his work more than the family. But a workahlic will be believing that they are working hard to fulfill their role as father and provider.

There can arise several problems in the life of a workaholic person. The compulsion to work can be physically harmful. Since the workaholic relies only on his occupation as his source of self-esteem, he is therefore reliant on his supervisors evaluation of him for the measure of his success. This can be a constant source of tension. With worry at work, worry when not at work, workaholics often report muscular tension and muscle strain. Happy family relationships elude the workaholic. Studies have shown that the amount of family strain is directly related to total numbers of hours spent at work each week. Workaholics have difficulty sustaining their intimate relationships because, whether at home or at work, they are emotionally unavailable to their families. It is a sad irony that many men feel they are working for their families while their devotion to work divides them from their loved ones.

Workaholics won't look in the mirror to see themselves as they really are. Friends, co-workers, or family members may tell them what is happening to them, but since workaholics don't want to see themselves, they become defensive or argue whenever anyone talks about their workaholic tendencies. Denial power and control are common behaviors and traits of workaholics. Denial is a form of dishonesty, not only to others, but also to himself.

Since workaholism, like any form of addictive behavior, is usually a deeply ingrained habit and therefore change takes time. Practice saying "no," or delegating tasks to others, clarifying your own inner values and setting goals, reducing the time you spend at work or thinking about work etc... will help you to overcome workaholism.