Are you addicted to your work?

How much do you love your work? Do you often think about how to free up time for more work or do you become stressed when you can't work? Then the chances are that you're a workaholic who needs help. For the first time ever, Norwegian researchers have formulated a criteria to which includes seven points to gauge workaholism.

'If you reply 'often' or 'always' to at least four of these seven criteria, there is some indication that you may be a workaholic. This is the first scale to use core symptoms of addiction found in other more traditional addictions like withdrawal symptoms, conflict, relapse problems,' said Schou Andreassen from University of Bergen, Norway.

The seven criteria are:

• You think of how you can free up more time to work
• You spend much more time working than initially intended
• You work in order to reduce feelings of guilt, anxiety, helplessness and/or depression
• You have been told by others to cut down on work without listening to them
• You become stressed if you are prohibited from working
• You de-prioritise hobbies, leisure activities, and/or exercise because of your work
• You work so much that it has negatively influenced your health

'We did find that younger adults were affected to a greater extent than older workers,' said Andreassen. Andreassen points out that workaholism may have contradictory psychological, physiological, and social outcomes. 'The fact that more than eight percent of the general work population seems to suffer from workaholism underlines the need for proper treatment and other relevant interventions,' researchers emphasised. The results have been published in the journal PLOS One.

While to the outsider a workaholic's life might seem great, the truth is that it can often lead to a burn out. Studies have also shown that workaholics are prone to ailments like hypertension, diabetes, coronary heart disease, GERD, spondylitis, depression, anxiety disorders, OCD, marital problems and other issues. Some common tips to deal with this condition are to eat healthier, plan better to avoid wasting time and get enough exercise. It's also a great idea to take frequent vacations, spend more time with your families, take up a hobby and get enough exercise.

Image Source: Getty

Also read:

• Sweat off your office stress
• How to fit exercise in your busy schedule
• Why exercise is better than drinking coffee at work

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