Work Addiction Seriously Damages Health
2 September 2008
Read by 1850 persons
To fight work pressure, some people develop a strategy reminiscent of Stockholm syndrome: workaholism. This addiction is dangerous for oneself and one's entourage.
In this internet start-up, people work very hard in cramped offices. The team is young, recruited to do the maximum with enthusiasm. For Chafik, 34, IT manager, it's normal. "There's a lot of work to do. I can do it, but only if my guys follow. I always have to check. Young people are not very persevering. And the deadlines are short, very short, but you just have to get down to it." What he doesn't say is that he spends his days and nights at the office in a room filled with servers with a deafening hum. The only consolation is the air conditioning, necessary for the equipment. Is he satisfied? Difficult to say: "The boss is a friend, he trusts me." For his colleagues who are not part of the "historical" ones, being in the "directorate", even if the term is pompous, gives him authority and prestige... and compensates for the rest. Because the working conditions are "limiting", the working day is long. "But they pay for the taxi at two in the morning so we can go home to sleep a little," jokes Laurent, 23, whose this is his first serious job. When you delve into the question, he admits to being a fan of computers and, as long as he can listen to his iPod, everything else doesn't matter much. Without realizing it, young Laurent, like his boss Chafik, present all the symptoms of work addiction. They are "workaholics".
A pathology in full expansion
In 2000, Dr. Bryan E. Robinson, psychiatrist at the University of North Carolina, Charlotte (USA), defined "workaholism" as an obsessive-compulsive disorder that manifests itself as personal injunctions to work, an inability to regulate one's work habits and excessive indulgence in one's livelihood to the detriment of one's other activities. The success of this psychiatrist's addictive typology (see box p. 78) has been coupled with that of his screening test, often used in France by addictologists. If the term workaholic appeared in the 1970s, its field of research literally exploded at the turn of the century with the globalization of the cult of performance. "Work addiction is notoriously underestimated and it is correlated with professional stress - they are co-addictive," says Dr. Laurent Karila, psychiatrist addictologist at Paul-Brousse Hospital in Villejuif.
It is therefore difficult to know whether work addiction causes stress, or conversely, whether stress favors it, or whether a third variable intervenes. Although cases of allergies, gastroesophageal reflux, migraines or overweight have been diagnosed, no study has demonstrated a firm association between workaholism and organic diseases.
However, "addicts" are candidates for professional burnout. Edmond, 60, is the typical profile. Having become the general manager of a large cleaning company, he works enormously, spending most of his weekends at the office. Moreover, he readily admits that his activity bulimia also contributes to the recognition of his skills. "During a takeover, ten years ago, I was very scared. Afraid of jumping because the new bosses often cut heads. I attribute my nephro colic at the time to this major stress." His doctor did not dissuade him. This very active, very demanding person admits to being pushed to do more and more to fulfill his duties: "To be an example also to the collaborators who are asked a lot." A justification that has not diminished with time, even though he no longer has anything to prove about his skills.
Workaholics not so reassuring!
So, are workaholics a blessing for the company? According to Dr. Robinson, the opposite would be true. Dependent on work itself and not on the result, they actually harm companies. Unable to delegate and integrate into a team, they are motivated by the fear of failure and the anxiety of losing their status. As a result, they are less efficient than one might expect. In addition, they are unpleasant to live with, showing intolerance to their own mistakes. What can be offered to these chronically stressed individuals, responsible, to a certain degree, for their own drift and involved in a system they no longer control? "Since most of us need to work to meet our needs, it is not a question of practicing definitive abstinence," rightly notes Dr. Laurent Karila. There are ways such as stress management techniques, cognitive-behavioral therapy, family therapy, or even a 12-step program based on the model of Alcoholics Anonymous. Prevention is best: "I advise separating professional, family, friendly and recreational worlds," continues Laurent Karila. Provided that you still know where the boundaries are…
Sophie Duméry
Posted online on September 2, 2008
newzy.fr
In this internet start-up, people work very hard in cramped offices. The team is young, recruited to do the maximum with enthusiasm. For Chafik, 34, IT manager, it's normal. "There's a lot of work to do. I can do it, but only if my guys follow. I always have to check. Young people are not very persevering. And the deadlines are short, very short, but you just have to get down to it." What he doesn't say is that he spends his days and nights at the office in a room filled with servers with a deafening hum. The only consolation is the air conditioning, necessary for the equipment. Is he satisfied? Difficult to say: "The boss is a friend, he trusts me." For his colleagues who are not part of the "historical" ones, being in the "directorate", even if the term is pompous, gives him authority and prestige... and compensates for the rest. Because the working conditions are "limiting", the working day is long. "But they pay for the taxi at two in the morning so we can go home to sleep a little," jokes Laurent, 23, whose this is his first serious job. When you delve into the question, he admits to being a fan of computers and, as long as he can listen to his iPod, everything else doesn't matter much. Without realizing it, young Laurent, like his boss Chafik, present all the symptoms of work addiction. They are "workaholics".
A pathology in full expansion
In 2000, Dr. Bryan E. Robinson, psychiatrist at the University of North Carolina, Charlotte (USA), defined "workaholism" as an obsessive-compulsive disorder that manifests itself as personal injunctions to work, an inability to regulate one's work habits and excessive indulgence in one's livelihood to the detriment of one's other activities. The success of this psychiatrist's addictive typology (see box p. 78) has been coupled with that of his screening test, often used in France by addictologists. If the term workaholic appeared in the 1970s, its field of research literally exploded at the turn of the century with the globalization of the cult of performance. "Work addiction is notoriously underestimated and it is correlated with professional stress - they are co-addictive," says Dr. Laurent Karila, psychiatrist addictologist at Paul-Brousse Hospital in Villejuif.
It is therefore difficult to know whether work addiction causes stress, or conversely, whether stress favors it, or whether a third variable intervenes. Although cases of allergies, gastroesophageal reflux, migraines or overweight have been diagnosed, no study has demonstrated a firm association between workaholism and organic diseases.
However, "addicts" are candidates for professional burnout. Edmond, 60, is the typical profile. Having become the general manager of a large cleaning company, he works enormously, spending most of his weekends at the office. Moreover, he readily admits that his activity bulimia also contributes to the recognition of his skills. "During a takeover, ten years ago, I was very scared. Afraid of jumping because the new bosses often cut heads. I attribute my nephro colic at the time to this major stress." His doctor did not dissuade him. This very active, very demanding person admits to being pushed to do more and more to fulfill his duties: "To be an example also to the collaborators who are asked a lot." A justification that has not diminished with time, even though he no longer has anything to prove about his skills.
Workaholics not so reassuring!
So, are workaholics a blessing for the company? According to Dr. Robinson, the opposite would be true. Dependent on work itself and not on the result, they actually harm companies. Unable to delegate and integrate into a team, they are motivated by the fear of failure and the anxiety of losing their status. As a result, they are less efficient than one might expect. In addition, they are unpleasant to live with, showing intolerance to their own mistakes. What can be offered to these chronically stressed individuals, responsible, to a certain degree, for their own drift and involved in a system they no longer control? "Since most of us need to work to meet our needs, it is not a question of practicing definitive abstinence," rightly notes Dr. Laurent Karila. There are ways such as stress management techniques, cognitive-behavioral therapy, family therapy, or even a 12-step program based on the model of Alcoholics Anonymous. Prevention is best: "I advise separating professional, family, friendly and recreational worlds," continues Laurent Karila. Provided that you still know where the boundaries are…
Sophie Duméry
Posted online on September 2, 2008
newzy.fr
