May 15, 2008
Workaholism and The exact dose of work
By admin
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Workaholics are by definition: people addicted to work. All over my life, i just have had one period where the excessive work absorbed my whole interest and time. I must emphasize before going on, a workaholic person is someone with a problem.
How do you recognize if you are a workaholic?
I might try to list the typical symptoms of the workaholism, but instead I will put you under test, as follows.
1. Do you work between 50 to 70 hours per week (if you work more than that, please quit this test; you must be sick!)?
2. Do you usually work at home after office time?
3. Do you work on weekends?
4. Did you go on vacation last year?
5. Do you sleep well (about 6 to 9 hours per day)?
6. Do you know what the members of your family have done by yesterday?
7. Have you ever thought of yourself as irreplaceable for the company?
If you answer Yes to any of these questions, you are in the high risk of becoming an alcoholic. Then, if you scored between 2 to 4 answers, take a break, relax and organize your life: it is only a job, my dear friend! If you replied Yes to more than 5, hey, Dude! Look for professional help; I mean you really, really need it.
The Problems of Workaholism for the Company
Although the popular belief supports the myth of the proactive worker, meaning by proactive someone who lives for the work; the facts are clear. And the reality is something that cannot be denied anyway.
The main problem of the workaholic is exactly the main measure of the value of the activities of every human being: efficiency. As the time goes by, the excessive load of work - originally taken with much proactivity - tends to slow down the abilities of the worker.
In plain English, the employee gets tired and burns down. And being so tired, a simple operation requires much more effort than usual. All of that translates into reduced productivity and a marked tendency to commit mistakes.
What follows is that the tasks taken by the workaholic employee are more expensive than if it would be achieved by someone who has a healthy, regular work timeframe.
Regarding the tendency to commit more mistakes, it also boosts the risk meter, specially for the workers in charge of delicate or potentially dangerous tasks; e.g. air traffic controllers.
The Problems of Workaholism for the Family
Unfortunately, the workaholic is someone who brings his/her job home. And that is something extremely complicated for the other members of the family.
It is common that the workaholic tends to develop a neurotic behaviour, showing irritated almost all of the time. It is also noteworthy that the communication skills of the person under the addiction reduce significantly. That is, a breach is opened between the subject and his/her family. It is not so uncommon that the workaholic ends up with a divorce, or at least a temporary separation.
The Problems of Workaholism for the Workaholic
The workaholic - as every person that suffers from an addiction - denies (to him/herself) firmly that he/she has a problem at all. For the workaholic, the problem is the boss or the wife, or the children. He/she just likes to work and everybody should be proud of it.
What the workaholic does not take into account is that the life is unique, and the work is JUST a part of it. As the time goes by, the heavy weight workaholic is an easy pray of physical and emotional diseases and disorders. The lack of physical exercise and the stress produces a high tendency to obesity and coronary diseases. The lack of a real life produces a tendency to depression and neurotic behaviour.
At last, the workaholic might well die at the battle field, and nobody will give a penny for all of his/her efforts. Basically, because nobody asks so much from anyone under normal conditions.
The Exact Dose of Work
As anything in this simple - yet so complicated - life, the work is important, beneficial, necessary and in the correct measure: desirable. I just can not imagine what my life would be like, without my regular dose of work. But, and also as anything in this life, all of the excesses are bad in nature, and with the work, there is not an exception, precisely.
There is no secret technique to find the balance between wok and the rest of activities of the life. As everything, it is just a matter of smart planning, organization and targeted focus. if there were to be a secret, it would be: assigning enough time to reach the whole potential at work, yielding the highest productivity possible.
How many hours per day is it?
The answer is : how many would you need? If you reach the highest potential in 6 hours of intense work, then 6 hours is ok. If you need 10 hours to yield the best of you - without affecting the rest of your activities - it is fine.
As a rule of thumb, someone who stays at work - working - for more than 10 hours daily and on a regular basis does have a problem. It might well be that he/she is not qualified for the job or there is a procrastination problem. It might also be a problem of the excessive goals that the person has set for him/herself.
The benefits of working in a productive way out of Workaholism
Being realistic, all of us have limitations in one sense or the other. And we have to be aware of the limitations, in order to exploit our capabilities in the best way.
When the exact dose of work is applied to our laboral life, in a productive way, the best of us is put into action in favor of the company. As a result, there is a synergy between our work, our results, the benefits for the company, the earnings for both parts, the professional growth and the personal satisfaction. All of that can just be translated into a happier, successful, healthier, wealthier and balanced life.
There is no secret at that!
Topics: Productivity |
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