Is work killing you?
There’s never been an easier time to be a workaholic. If you’re so inclined, you have at your disposal a number of contraptions and factors to get you hooked. There’s the ubiquitous ‘smart’ phone, with your job merely a tap away. There’s the ‘do more with less’ mantra, compelling you to fill the gap. And there’s our hyper-connected world, with clients expecting you to be on demand.
But this only tells part of the story. We know this because many employees refuse to be sucked into the black hole of obsessive work despite being confronted by the same devices and pressures. So could it be certain types of people are especially drawn to workaholism?
Earlier this year, researchers tested 333 employees for a number of characteristics to see if any of them were higher among workaholics. The findings, published in the International Journal of Stress Management, discovered two in particular as being “significantly associated” with this addiction: achievement motivation and perfectionism.
Achievement motivation is another term for competitive ambition. You know you’ve got it if you love setting challenging goals and if you find obstacles more thrilling than deflating. The downside is you’re more likely to spend extraordinary amounts of time working – and when you’re not working you’re thinking about working, which is pretty much the same thing.
Perfectionism is characterised by meticulousness for detail. If this is a personality trait you possess, you’re undoubtedly a reliable workhorse adored by bosses. Your employees, though, may have a different view since you’re prone to mistrust. After all, no one can do a job as good as you. That means you’re reluctant to delegate and are predisposed to micromanagement.
On their own, there’s nothing wrong with achievement motivation and perfectionism. They’re both admirable qualities certain to propel your career. It’s just that trouble brews when those attributes are thrown into a soup of environmental factors that make workaholism too delicious to resist.
It’s leading to what’s known in Japan as ‘karoshi’ – death from overwork. Hundreds of exhausted employees are dying there each year as a result of excessive workloads. It’s a problem so dire the Japanese government enacted fresh legislation a couple of weeks ago, designed to curb the death rate.
While there’s no indication of karoshi emerging in Australia (yet), it’s interesting to note we’re heading in the wrong direction.
So what can be done to diminish this workaholism obsession? The researchers from the previously mentioned study offer the following suggestions:
- In your business, stop rewarding compulsive work behaviour.
- Stop being a workaholic yourself, since that sets a bad example.
- Teach employees how to work efficiently rather than mercilessly.
What needs to be overcome is the pervasive perception that workaholics are good for the organisation. They invest so much of themselves, they’re so dedicated and productive – that has to be a win for the company, right?
Not necessarily. In another study published this year, workaholism among entrepreneurs was found to be an inhibitor to their success. The findings, documented in the Journal of Managerial Psychology, concluded workaholism leads to negative emotions, which aren’t that helpful to business owners who should be feeling positive and inspired in order to produce good work.
Plenty of evidence has now been accumulated from dozens of reputable studies to indicate workaholics actually commit a greater number of errors, tend to work inefficiently, suffer from poorer health, have a lower standard of wellbeing, and endure a higher rate of relationship difficulties.
It’s hard to disagree with the authors of the entrepreneurial research who wrote: “Leisure time seems better spent on fun activities.”
And as I file this article at 11:30pm, I realise the one person who should be taking that advice is me…
Do you know a workaholic? Is this a fair assessment of them?
Follow James Adonis on Twitter: @jamesadonis
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