by Barbara Reinhold
People who go to work under the influence of drugs or alcohol eventually
become pariahs, losing themselves and their jobs as they go. But too many
work-addicted people are being mightily rewarded, even though it is, in the
long run, the root cause of tremendous physical, emotional and economic
pain.
How do you spot a workaholic?
How do you know if your boss with the non-stop demands, your spouse who
seldom makes it home to dinner, your coworker -- or even you -- are work addicted? Use this quiz to see how many of the characteristics often associated with work addiction apply to you or someone you know.
Mark yes next to each description that sounds familiar:
What's your score? Your boss's? Your spouse's?
Here's the acid test: Show this quiz to your partner, coworker or friend and
see how someone who knows you well answers about you. And assume that in
this case the person has truer answers for you than you do.
If you scored between 10 and 15, you need to take a hard look at how much of your life has been taken over by work. Unless you scored less than 3, don't consider yourself home free. You, too, have tendencies to let your work overgrow your garden.
Why does it matter?
Because work addiction has the same long-term prognosis as any addiction.
Good judgment in complex situations requires the following:
- going to work rested
- having people to whom you can confess and unload negative feelings
- taking care of yourself physically
- having down time to replenish your creativity and clear perspective
Few workaholics find the time or self-awareness to do these things. But in many companies they're well-compensated and promoted, thus imposing their mad expectations on others, often causing the healthy people to jump ship. In short, they wreak havoc in the organizations that theyre leading.
What are the antidotes to this poison?
Start with a heavy dose of feedback. When the addicted person is your boss,
starting the feedback chain is delicate; don't go it alone under any
circumstances. It's still tricky with a coworker or friend, but its easier.
With a direct report, it's part of your job. And if it's you? That's the
hardest one of all.
But there are lots of resources.
There's always bibliotherapy. Two good books are:
1) Overdoing It: How to Slow Down and Take Care of Yourself, by Bryan Robinson (Health Communications, 1992)
2) Working Ourselves to Death: The High Cost of Workaholism and the Rewards of Recovery, by Diane Fassel (Harper, 1990)
There's help in cyberspace, too.
There are 12-step groups everywhere (an amazing number of workaholics are
adult children of alcoholics). A master list of 12-step programs is
available at http://www.12steps.org. Browsing here will take you to other linked sites, organized by geography, type of addiction etc.
This is serious stuff -- a matter of life and death, eventually, for the employee and for the work unit. It's time to stop rewarding this highly-approved addiction, the one that's draining the vitality and resilience from organizations everywhere.