Commitment to work is a positive aptitude and is required by employees around the world in any field of work to which they dedicate themselves.
However, sometimes some employees become obsessed with work to the point of developing an addiction that can have very negative effects on the person both personally and professionally.
It is considered that in Spain there are more than 10% of employees with work addiction or workaholics, an alteration that can have multiple causes and is characterized by an obsession with work and an inability to disconnect from it. Therefore, it is important to know signs to detect work addiction.
Identify work addiction: the main signs to detect this problem
Below you will find summarized a series of signs to identify the problem of work addiction on a daily basis.
1. Tendency to make excuses for not resting
One of the main characteristics of work addiction is the fact of refusing to take a break from work and constantly making excuses that allow the person to continue working for marathon days. The person assumes that those minutes or hours dedicated to resting are “wasted time.”
Believing that resting is not important and always having more important things to do, related to work, is also one of the defining signs of work addiction, something that in the long run affects both physically and psychologically.
This also applies to vacations, since these people usually take the fewest vacation days to get to work as soon as possible.
2. Inability to disconnect
Another sign that can alert us that we are facing a case of work addiction is the inability of the person to disconnect 100% from work.
The need to be connected to the Internet or email 24 hours a day to deal with possible work contingencies is common among workaholics, something that can be exercised, again, a real problem on a psychological and mental health level.
In addition to that, it is also common to need to be available at all times for any work-related call or request, whether to speak with superiors or co-workers.
3. Inability to delegate
The previous section reveals an inability to delegate work to other people or subordinates, due to the fact that we consider that other people will not do it as well as we do.
This disability indicates a significant deficit in social and work skills such as cooperation or teamwork and ends up generating work overload in the long term.
4. Practical absence of social life outside of work
As with the love life, the social life of people who are addicted to work is also often resentful.
People affected by this alteration usually make more and more excuses to work and progressively They are losing contact with their usual friends.
Being busy with work all day and stopping going out with your usual friends can be a symptom that we may be facing a case of addiction or obsession with work.
Postponing social plans, family gatherings, trips or all types of leisure events because of work is another of the unequivocal and most visible signs of work addiction.
Just as it is to consider that there is nothing more important than work and to be obsessed with working or being available for work 24 hours a day.
6. Inability to set limits on extra work
People addicted to work do not know how to set limits on their work obligations, which means that They will not refuse to carry out any task entrusted to them by bosses or superior positions.
This inability to set limits translates again into overwork, physical damage related to fatigue or work overload, and also psychological damage.
7. Excessive perfectionism
Being excessively perfectionist leads people with work addiction to dedicate enormous amounts of time to their daily work obligations, tasks that they could do in less time and have greater productivity.
People with these alterations They are never completely happy with the result of their work which causes anxiety, stress, helplessness and even depressive symptoms.
8. Work and family conflict
Developing a work addiction can result in an increase in conflicts at both work and family levels.
Each of the psychological or personality alterations and imbalances that these people present can cause problems with co-workers or superiors as well as with close family members or your partner.
