INTERESTING ENGINEERING – Workaholism is a pattern of behavior in which an individual is overly committed to their work, frequently at the expense of other elements of their life such as health, relationships, and leisure activities.
While a strong work ethic and dedication to one’s career are admirable qualities, workaholism is characterized by an excessive and compulsive concern with work that exceeds what is deemed normal or even necessary.
But this form of addiction is not fulfilling, finds a new study with workaholics reporting feeling unwell even when working and possibly even dying from the condition.
“The negative mood observed in workaholics may indicate elevated daily stress levels and that could be the cause of the higher risk for these individuals to develop burnout and cardiovascular problems.
Furthermore, considering that workaholics often hold positions of responsibility, their negative mood could readily influence that of colleagues and co-workers,” said Cristian Balducci, a professor at the Department for Life Quality Studies at the University of Bologna (Rimini Campus) who led the research.
“Despite initial assumptions, the [study] indicated that those who are addicted to work do not get more pleasure from their profession regardless of their workload.”
He added that these habits pose a risk that organizations should actively examine, intervening to discourage workaholism-related behaviors and patterns.
Balducci and his team conducted a study with 139 full-time workers, the majority of whom were involved in back-office operations. The participants’ level of employment reliance was initially assessed using a psychological exam.
The researchers then used the “experience sampling method” to analyze the workers’ moods and perceptions of workload throughout the week.
This was accomplished through the use of an app installed on the participants’ phones, which allowed them to send replies to short questionnaires every 90 minutes during working hours from Monday through Friday.
Worse moods regardless of workload
According to the statistics gathered, the most severely workaholic employees reported being in a worse mood than their co-workers …
