The definition of workaholism has expanded over the years to include motivational, cognitive, emotional, and behavioral components–but understanding why you’re overworking can help you unlock ways to deal with it.
Wednesday, February 21, 2018
These Are The Four Drivers Of Workaholism
The definition of workaholism has expanded over the years to include motivational, cognitive, emotional, and behavioral components–but understanding why you’re overworking can help you unlock ways to deal with it.
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I think the most important thing to note from this article is that workaholism does not improve performance. Even though it may feel like constantly thinking about work is beneficial, this researcher has proved that it will increases stress and burnout. Though I think many of us know this, in the moment it can be hard to separate from our emotions when we are in the heat of it. Also, I think it is important to note that people who work a lot are not necessarily workaholics. Workaholics are people who feel a compulsion to work. People can love and enjoy their job, while not being a workaholic. In addition, I would have liked this article to address what someone should do if they are a workaholic or think someone they know is a workaholic. I wonder what workaholics are to do. Overall, I think the article is interesting and hopefully Dr. Clark’s research can help workaholics.
I’ve been guilty of being a workaholic in my time. Though I have to think that my definition and that posed in the article may be slightly different. My craft comes first. That is what I tell myself. The audience matters. The show must open on time. These are the drivers in my work life. I try to maintain a balance. I take time off, get out of the shop, and go enjoy life. Have you ever smelled the forest after a summer rain? I have and it’s wonderful. I love what I do and yes, it is long hours and days. But I’m not a workaholic anymore. I’ve made changes to my life to reduce the stress of always being at work and to be a genuinely more happy person. It’s still a work in progress. They say that if you love what you do, you’ll never work a day in your life. I almost think that is true. Gone are the days where a young lad could while away his summer days lying under a tree surrounded by books from the great masters. Or maybe not. I guess it is all in how you view life. I find this article to be, well, arrogant. As though workaholism is rampant in the world and must be stopped for it is a plague. I don’t see that as the case, what I see is that this article is trying to pin down under a label stressors in the professional life of an individual. Driven to succeed is not, in my mind, workaholism. This isn’t alcoholism. It’s not you are or you are not. This is life. Enjoy it.
This is such an interesting article talking about different work habits and ideas. I don't personally consider or even think of myself on the same plane as most workaholics but working in theatre especially I can sometimes feel surrounded by those being consumed by their work for no good reason. There are a lot of important ideas in this article though not just for workaholics but also for those of us who just work more then we would like or more then maybe we should. Like separating things from our work is something that I think a lot of people struggle with. Being able to take a break not just physically but mentally as well and being able to take away an emotional connection from your work. Sometimes, especially as artists, we get so into our work and we become so invested that we no longer see the ultimate goal of what we are trying to create and we keep going until we just physically can't any longer or we never get to a point where we are "finished". Which yes may not even be possible but is something that we need to try and strive for and not simply put our heads down and keep working till we can't.
A very interesting article. I have heard a lot of people label either themselves of others as workaholics and I usually can’t figure out why. My perception of workaholism seems to lineup with what they determine workaholics to be like. Essentially working because they feel the need to and always working. This article dispels the myth that so many people use to determine if someone is a workaholic and enlightened me as to why they are workaholics. I find it interesting that type A people are highly among them but not shocked by this. I always found it interesting that workaholics aren’t any more productive, which Is what I though. My reasoning is because they lose sleep and essential energy that we need as humans from lack of socialization and deprivation of quality food, sleep, and other factors. He didn’t go into detail about this but he does claim they are less productive. I would be interested to see if my explanation rings true and what can be done to help people get away from workaholism in their life and create a happier and better environment for them.
This article is really interesting. I didn't know there were four different causes for workaholism, though they completely make sense especially the underlying driving cause of needing to feel competent and the need to keep your mind busy so you don’t think about personal trauma or emotional issues. I really appreciate the distinction between those who work a lot because they love their work and those who are true workaholics who feel a compulsion to work a lot. The mindset is completely different. It’s also interesting that workaholism doesn't actually make you a better worker and in fact leads to more stress and burnout which leads you to having periods where it’s really hard to be productive where you probably are making more mistakes. It’s really easy to see these trends in the theatre work we do, and I think it’s an almost institutional problem because the show must get up and there are layers of people all putting pressure on the production department to make it look perfect from the designer, the directors, management, other designers, and so on.
Workaholic is a term I hear thrown around quite a lot and I had an inherent sense of what it meant, but this article helped explain a little further about what it meant and how it is different from other forms of working a lot. While I do not classify myself as a full on workaholic, there were some things mentioned that I really relate to. Mostly the idea that if I am not working, I'm doing something wrong. I always feel guilty when I waste time or do something other than work, which is a fairly unfortunate way of thinking. A big part of the workaholic definition in this article is someone who doesn't like their work, but on that point I am far from a workaholic. When I work a lot it's because I love the work, it's always on my mind and I enjoy working on it, not because I "feel compelled to work because of internal pressures."
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