What is work addiction?

Causes

Work addiction is caused by a complex constellation of factors, including family history of work addiction or other addictions, perfectionism, obsessive-compulsive traits, organizational cultures that encourage workaholic tendencies, modeling of work addiction by one’s parents or other role models, enjoyment of one’s work, and a lack of other meaningful identities in a person’s life. Research published in 2009 found that work addiction results from a combination of personality traits, family background, and work cultures that promote or normalize work-addictive behaviors, such as regularly working long hours and taking work home.

Risk Factors

Persons who work in salaried, rather than hourly wage, jobs have an increased risk for work addiction. Working in an environment in which long hours, taking work home, working weekends, and a lack of self-care are normalized places people at risk for developing work addiction. Additionally, persons who are perfectionists or who have obsessive-compulsive features, such as frequent worrying or compulsively checking e-mail, are at increased risk for developing work addiction.

Symptoms

The clearest symptoms of work addiction are an excessive need for work and having one’s work chronically overtake time spent for self-care and social activities. People who suffer from work addiction think constantly about work when not at work, will work significantly beyond what is required by their jobs, and experience stress-related medical conditions such as high blood pressure and migraines.

Workaholics often lose or have impaired social relationships and generally neglect nonwork aspects of their lives, such as hobbies, exercise, and friendships. Workaholics experience frequent conflicts between their work and other important aspects of their lives.

People with work addiction are more likely to have marital and family conflicts, get divorced, and have fewer close relationships than workers who are not addicted to their jobs.

Screening and Diagnosis

A comprehensive screening and assessment for work addiction can be performed by a therapist. The therapist will ask the client about symptoms, background information, work behaviors and hours, general functioning, family and social experiences, mental health history, and medical history. The therapist may ask the client to complete questionnaires that assess the symptoms of work addiction and their severity. The therapist will then share the results of this comprehensive assessment with the client and discuss treatment options. Increasingly, employers and managers are conducting screenings for work addiction risk factors to identify employees who would benefit from preventive interventions or from referral to a mental health professional.

Treatment and Therapy

Treatment options for work addiction are similar to treatment options for other behavioral addictions. The choice of treatment is determined by the level of severity, the causes of the client’s work addiction, the client’s preferences, and the client’s personal coping resources. Persons who are suffering from physical illnesses caused by workaholic behaviors will be referred to physicians for appropriate medical treatment.

Clients may attend weekly or biweekly counseling sessions with a therapist, who will help the client to explore the causes of his or her work addiction; to learn to set healthy boundaries with work; to develop healthier self-care behaviors, such as balanced diet and exercise; and to develop and maintain healthy social relationships. Couples or family therapy also may be integrated to address any family concerns and communication issues.

In addition to or instead of attending counseling sessions, a work addict may participate in a twelve-step self-help and recovery group such as Workaholics Anonymous. In this group format, the addict may develop personally supportive relationships with others who are also striving to recover from work addiction and who are hoping to progress through a series of steps to better understand and manage their behavior.

Several self-help books and workbooks for work addiction also exist. These resources offer concrete behavioral strategies for decreasing work addiction, such as setting time limits for work tasks, investing a consistent amount of time in hobbies, and using assertive communication in relationships. The length of treatment for work addiction varies by client and is affected by the client’s willingness to engage in treatment, the client’s other coping resources, and the client’s symptom severity.

Prevention

Because work addiction is a family disease in which children of work addicts are themselves more likely to develop work addiction, one of the best ways to prevent work addiction in future generations is for parents to seek treatment when they have symptoms. Parents also can help to prevent future work addiction in their children by modeling involvement in a variety of important life roles not limited to work identities. Work addiction can be prevented by setting limits around work hours and personal time, prioritizing valued relationships, participating regularly in hobbies, and engaging in regular self-care through exercise and relaxation.

Employers can prevent work addiction by setting organizational norms of “working smart” and being efficient versus working excessive hours. Employers can limit the amount of work an employee can take home and can provide resources to promote positive worker health. Some innovative employers make available certain helpful resources, such as gyms, on-site medical clinics, and relaxation gardens, in the work environment so that employees may conveniently use these services for self-care during breaks, on the way to work, and after work.

Bibliography

Aziz, Shahnaz, and Casie Tronzo. “Exploring the Relationship between Workaholism Facets and Personality Traits: A Replication in American Workers.” Psychological Record 61 (2011): 269–86. Print.

Aziz, Shahnaz, et al. “Workaholism and Work-Life Imbalance: Does Cultural Origin Influence the Relationship?” International Journal of Psychology 45 (2010): 72–79. Print.

Brady, Becca, Stephen Vodanovich, and Robert Rotunda. “The Impact of Workaholism on Work-Family Conflict, Job Satisfaction, and Perception of Leisure Activities.” Psychologist-Manager Journal 11 (2008): 241–63. Print.

Liang, Ying-Wen, and Chen-Ming Chu. “Personality Traits and Personal and Organizational Inducements: Antecedents of Workaholism.” Social Behavior and Personality 37 (2009): 645–60. Print.

Robinson, Bryan. Chained to the Desk: A Guidebook for Workaholics, Their Partners and Children, and the Clinicians Who Treat Them. 2nd ed. New York: New York UP, 2007. Print.

Robinson, Bryan. “The Psychosocial and Familial Dimensions of Work Addiction: Preliminary Perspectives and Hypotheses.” Journal of Counseling and Development 74 (1996): 447–52. Print.

Robinson, Bryan, and Lisa Kelley. “Adult Children of Workaholics: Self-Concept, Anxiety, Depression, and Locus of Control.” American Journal of Family Therapy 26 (1998): 223–38. Print.

Shimazu, Akihito, Wilmar Schaufeli, and Toon Taris. “How Does Workaholism Affect Worker Health and Performance? The Mediating Role of Coping.” International Journal of Behavioral Medicine 17 (2010): 154–60. Print.