workaholism essays

workaholism essays Recently, in the US there has been a dramatic rise in the number of people working longer hours. Understanding how workaholic behavior patterns can affect ones psychological well-being and life satisfaction is becoming increasingly of greater importance to mental health professionals. Workaholism has been described both positively and negatively as an addiction to work, the compulsion or uncontrollable need to work incessantly. Most employers value an employee that is very hardworking but as longer hours are put in, a person may begin to struggle at balancing personal and family needs with the increasing workload. Though generally accepted in society, there is surfacing evidence of the negative consequences of Workaholism. Research has suggested that workaholics report higher levels of stress and are subject to more health related problems than nonworkaholics. Workaholics tend to be of a perfectionist nature and are often unwilling to delegate work to others, which can sometimes slow progress and reduce efficiency in many jobs. These findings would suggest that workaholics might possess traits that might not be as desirable to employers as once thought. The term Workaholism was coined decades ago because of the similarity in the patterns between an alcoholic and a workaholic. The most similar trait is that the behavior is continued despite the knowledge of how it is affecting the person physically or psychologically. There are generally two types of workaholics, the enthusiastic and the nonenthusiastic. Both types are defined as people who exhibit an excessively high work involvement. The difference is however, the enthusiastic workaholic actually enjoys a high rate of personal enjoyment and satisfaction gained from their work. In contrast, a nonenthusiastic workaholic doesnt receive the same satisfaction from their efforts. There are three basic theories as to how people become ...