Do you often feel overworked? Is your spouse or friends often complaining about your long hours at work? Or maybe you are just interested in reading about the many signs to look for. This guide will take you through the different signs to look for! If you recognize yourself in two or more of these steps, you should ask friends and family on what they think. Workaholism is something one can be addicted to, and yet not know it!
Follow these guidelines and make this your own personal check-list. How to determine if you’re a workaholic:
1. Assess how you feel at the day’s end. If you are often tired from work? This might be the first and foremost sign to look for when it comes to being a workaholic. It is just as important to look at how many hours you put into your work every week. 8-10 hours every day is about average. But if you go two or more hours above this, and also feel exhausted after a full day of work, this is the first and most crucial sign that you might be a workaholic. If this is the case, see if you can recognize yourself in the the later steps as well.
2. Determine how you feel about it. Does your job come before anything else? Remember, workaholism is first and foremost an addiction, not a hobby, sport, or even an interest. Workaholism is something that one might end up investing everything into, but not for fun. Therefore it’s important to see where you place your work in comparison to friends, family and loved ones. One should never give up friends and family just for a job. This is a rule of the thumb. Reflect on your priorities!
3. Think about how you feel about your job. Does your job make you happy? If it doesn’t, then you should look more closely into it. Workaholism is as mentioned earlier an addiction. At first your job might have seemed fun, but after a while, that feeling of having a good time with it might have faded, and been replaced by an urging feeling to do more work. Just for the sake of doing more, and completing that last report, even though it is late at night. Your job is supposed to make you happy and seem interesting!
4. When is your job fun? Most of the time, or just when you just completed that final task? Because completing a task might bring you some feeling of joy. But your job is supposed to bring you joy even through the process. Being addicted to the feeling of finishing something is often a big part of being a workaholic!
5. Do you feel bad when you are not working? A lot of workaholics are addicted to the feeling of that you are doing something important. That you are doing something that matters. Being a nice-guy or a good girl is about a lot more than just doing your chores perfectly. If that grudging feeling of uncertainty returns just about when the weekend or a vacation rolls up, you should look more closely into your habits!
6. Do you enjoy the harvest of what you have sown? Do you enjoy that big pay that comes at the end of the month after putting in those long hard hours? Because many people enjoy making a hard effort, but they are also good at praising that day of, or that new TV they could afford. Thanks to the long hours. A workaholic works differently. Seldom they take the leisure of enjoying what they’ve earned. So do some soul searching if you recognize yourself in this.
7. Check your stress level. Do you stress a lot? A workaholic is often obsessed with getting the chores done as fast and productive as possible. Together with the aspect of exhausting yourself, stress often affects the workaholic. When there is no break, or chance to relax, it is almost impossible to unhook. Remember: Only sleeping eight hours at night isn’t enough relaxation for a human being. You have to take it easy at least a couple of hours every day in addition to the hours of sleep you get in order to combat stress and exhaustion.
8. Last but not least: This is an addiction. And it can get pretty bad. Exhaustion and stress is something that often troubles workaholics, and this is something that is not to be taken lightly.If this article make you suspect that you might be a workaholic, it is important to get support from friends and loved ones. And if it doesn’t go away, professional help is advised.