Workaholic. You may have heard this term before, after all, many people talk about it. This is because work has taken up more of our lives than necessary, becoming our goal and purpose in life.
However, people who identify as workaholics feel and say that 24 hours is not enough for a day , because they have so many tasks and activities that they lose track of how much time they dedicate to work . However, this practice can lead to the failure of their mental health and the deterioration of their interpersonal relationships.
After all, what does it really mean to be a workaholic?
The meaning of workaholic is “compulsive worker”. These are people who, without realizing it, choose to work a lot , start to base their entire routine on excessive goals, projects and unfinished content, and feel a deep obsession with work.
The corporate world is surrounded by high levels of competitiveness, vanity, greed and alter ego. This means that people are always seeking to adapt to demands out of necessity and also as a matter of survival .
To this end, many become addicted to work not only to satisfy the demands of the company, but also as a way to achieve their personal goals. Therefore, they work overtime, work weekends, do freelance work and emerge in the world of work.
However, some more serious consequences that the workaholic lifestyle can bring include stress, depression , anxiety , alcohol and other drug abuse , burnout syndrome , among other emotional issues.
Characteristics of a workaholic person
The main characteristics of a workaholic person are linked to the social and emotional sphere. Consequently, the person who lives for work feels increasingly distant from social relationships and does not find time for their hobbies . In this way, they sink deeper and deeper into personal problems, as they do not have time to deal with them.
A workaholic cannot disconnect from his or her work duties, not even during vacations, holidays or weekends. In some situations, the workaholic makes him or her leave aside his or her social life and relationships with his or her partner, children and family in general to focus completely on the goals to be achieved.
Over time, your true friends become those who spend time together in the work environment, as communication is more accessible, since everyone is involved in the same subject: work.
Why do people choose to work so much?
Nowadays, it is very common to hear about endless deadlines, specific goals and endless hours of work. However, often, in the midst of so much despair, we notice that people refer to all of this as if it were not a matter of choice, but rather a lack of options, whether for financial reasons , professional level, etc.
In fact, although this hypothesis is true, it is possible to raise several points about why excessive work is a priority in the lives of many people. Therefore, if we think about the existence of a behavior behind the motivations, we can see that it only happens because it is being totally reinforced and generates a sequence of thoughts and attitudes that establish this excessive routine as normal.
How do I identify that I am a workaholic?
To identify whether you are a workaholic, you need to pay attention to your own behavior. However, there are some warning signs that may mean that you have been treating work in an exaggerated way. These are:
- Everything revolves around your work, it’s as if it were the reason for everything, both joy and sadness;
- Personal life is put aside without you even realizing it, because you are always busy with something else related to work;
- Meetings, calls, goals, projects, contracts that never end and, consequently, the workday extends to the home and personal environments;
- Irritability;
- Constantly connected to the cell phone and other technologies previously synchronized with email and work matters. Checking these devices frequently;
- Dreams or insomnia are constant;
- The need to always drink coffee, or the emergence of the need for medicines begins to appear and then becomes frequent.
How can psychology help?
A person who works a lot and has this compulsive behavior suffers a lot because it results in a poor quality of life and, consequently, their health begins to manifest negatively, through:
- insomnia;
- irritability;
- depression;
- traumas and syndromes;
- Bad mood;
- aggressiveness;
- sexual impotence;
- emotional instability;
- fear of failure;
- anxiety attacks;
- low self-esteem;
- in some cases, suicidal thoughts.
Excessive work and quality of life are not a good combination. Therefore, psychological guidance is recommended to identify which points influence workaholic behavior in a person’s life.
The psychologist will be ready to understand and listen to all concerns and identify when this behavior began. This process is carried out through various techniques aimed at helping the patient to control these feelings and, most importantly, learn about time management , that is, how to organize their routine, taking into account all aspects of life, including relaxation.
