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Hi, I’m Elaine and I am a Workaholic
Sounds familiar? This is usually the first sentence uttered by participants in self-help groups like Alcoholics Anonymous which is aimed to help people overcome their addiction towards liquor. In this case, “workaholic” is the term used and you might wonder: Is there addiction towards work? Apparently, there is and it is shown in the article entitled Workaholics struggle to say ‘No’ to work. The article show situations in which people could be considered as workaholics:
Situations:
Situation A: Person A sneaks into the office at the wee hours in the morning just to work and does not want anyone to know about it.
Situation B: Person B spends most of his nights in the office working, without attending any social event in his/her life
Situation C: Person C could not say “no” to additional workload and added voluntary projects assigned to him/her
The situations mentioned are just some of the incidents which showcases the true meaning of the word, “addicted to work”. To put things in perspective, the group Workaholic Anonymous defined workaholics as people showing the following characteristics:
they are often perfectionists and worriers
derive self esteem from their work
keeps overly busy
neglects their health
postpones vacation and leisure trips
imposes overschedule in their lives
Being dedicated to your work is a good thing but letting work dictate your whole life is another thing. According to the self-help group, a lot of people brag about being “workaholic” but they do not realize that this is a serious situation and something that should not be tolerated. The group also mentioned that being workaholic does not necessarily mean that you are employed, if you are the person who compulsively tries to make him/herself busy in order to overcome the feeling of inadequacy or avoid having intimate relationships, you could be considered as one.
Being workaholic does not mean that you are also productive in your work. As a human person, we could not act productively if we do not get adequate sleep and rest. Even machines and computers experience difficulty when used on a daily basis. Aside from that, being workaholic could sometimes be a person’s coping mechanism. This means that this could be the reaction of people whic experiences psychological problems like low self-esteem and other related issues. If the compulsion to work excessively would not stop, the chances of it ruining a person’s life would be high. In order to stop this kind of behavior, certain measures should be practiced. Let me give you some tips on how to prevent being “workaholic”.
Some Helpful Tips
Know your limitations and capabilities
Practice time management
Identify your priorities
Incoroprate stress-relieving activities in your life
Take time to relax and chill
These are just some helpful tips which could prevent you from being “swallowed” in the corporate system. Remember that work is just one of the priorities in life and as a person, you have the power to control it and not let it overtake your whole life. If sometimes you feel stressed out and ready to burst from work overload, just remember this line from the poem Invictus written by William Ernest Henley: I am the master of my fate; I am the captain of my soul.
ORIGINAL ARTICLE SOURCE:
http://www.gbwatch.com/?p=44
By: Elaine Ramos
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