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What is Work Addiction
Work addicts are just as powerless over their compulsion to work, as drug addicts are over using their drug of choice. Work addiction can lead to burn-out and even death, and it can destroy the family just like any other addiction. What makes work abusive or addictive, as opposed to healthy or constructive, is the degree to which work interferes with physical health, personal happiness, or intimate and social relationships. The irony of the disease is that work addicts suffer more problems on the job than their colleagues. In some ways, overworking is harder to kick than the other addictions because it is the only one that draws applause.
10 Major Signs of Work Addiction:
- Hurrying & Staying Busy ~ haunted by a constant sense of urgency and always struggling against the limits of time.
- Need to Control ~ obsessive need to control themselves and everything in their lives.
- Perfectionism ~ such sticklers that nothing can ever be perfect enough.
- Difficulty With Relationships ~ excessive work interferes with intimate relationships and close friendships.
- Work Binges ~ rarely works eight-hour days, five days a week.
- Difficulty Relaxing ~ restlessness is their hallmark.
- Brownouts ~ memory losses of long conversations, or trips because of mental preoccupation with planning and work.
- Impatience & Irritability ~ easily annoyed and cannot tolerate delays in grocery stores, restaurants, etc.
- Self-Inadequacy ~ sense of inadequacy and poor self-esteem leads to a strong emphasis on production, rather than process.
- Self-Neglect ~ overwork leads to self-neglect.
THE WART (Work Addiction Risk Test)
Read each of the following statements and decide how much each one pertains to you. Using the following rate scale, put the number that best fits you in the blank (highlight, and print for use in the privacy of your own home):
| 1 - never true | 2 - seldom true | 3 - often true | 4 - always true |
- __I prefer to do most things myself, rather than ask for help.
- __I get very impatient when I have to wait for someone else, or when something takes too long.
- __I seem to be in a hurry and racing against the clock.
- __I get irritated when I am interrupted while I am in the middle of something.
- __I stay busy and keep many "irons in the fire".
- __I find myself doing two or three things at a time.
- __I over commit myself by biting off more than I can chew.
- __I feel guilty when I am not working on something.
- __It is important that I see the concrete results of what I do.
- __I am more interested in the final result of my work than in the process.
- __Things just never seem to move fast enough, or get done fast enough for me.
- __I lose my temper when things don't go my way, or work out to suit me.
- __I ask the same question, without realizing it, after I've already been given an answer.
- __I spend a lot of time mentally planning and thinking about future events, while tuning out the here and now.
- __I find myself continuing to work after my co-workers have called it quits.
- __I get angry when people don't meet my standards of perfection.
- __I get upset when I am in situations where I cannot be in control.
- __I tend to put myself under pressure with self-imposed deadlines.
- __It is hard for me to relax when I'm not working.
- __I spend more time working than on socializing with friends, on hobbies, or on leisure activities.
- __I dive into projects to get a head start before all the phases have been finalized.
- __I get upset with myself for making even the smallest mistake.
- __I put more thought, time and energy into my work than I do into my relationships with my spouse and family.
- __I forget, ignore or minimize important family celebrations such as birthdays, reunions, anniversaries, or holidays.
- __I make important decisions before I have all the facts and have a chance to think them through thoroughly.
A score of 25 - 54: You are not work addicted.
A score of 55 - 69: You are mildly work addicted.
A score of 70 - 100: You are highly work addicted.
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