Wednesday, June 4, 2014

How to Know if You're a Workaholic and What to Do About It


We all put in more time at work these days, complaining that we feel we must check in with the office when we’re on vacation or find it impossible not to look at emails on the weekends.
But when has that commitment to our jobs crossed the line into something unhealthy?
Consider this Huffington Post article by Patricia Crisafulli, founder of FaithHopeandFiction.com:
“My addiction (let’s call it what it is) has nothing to do with stuff. I drive a 12-year-old car, and much of my wardrobe is of the same vintage. In fact, it has nothing to do with abundance; rather it’s rooted in the opposite — scarcity.
There is never enough busyness for us workaholics, who feel so alive as we tap our busy little fingers across the keyboard, as steady as a too-rapid heartbeat. We’ve taken on the nature of sharks, believing that if we stop moving we will die.”
Crisafulli isn’t the only one to publicly admit she has a problem.
On her blog, Brenda Nicole Tan writes that her workaholism led to a flare-up of a chronic autoimmune disease that was in remission.
“Recently, faced with a couple of spotty lung x-rays and abnormal blood test results, I am now at a point where I realize I may have just done irreversible damage to myself,” she writes.

Are you a Workaholic? Take the Quiz

But what is the difference between being a workaholic and just someone who works hard? Workaholics Anonymous suggests you may be a workaholic if you answer “yes” to three or more of these questions:
  1. Do you get more excited about your work than about family or anything else?
  2. Are there times when you can charge through your (read more here)

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