Changes: Workaholic

Revision as of 23:19, 8 May 2007

Industrial & Organisational : Introduction : Personnel : Organizational psychology : Occupations: Work environment: Index : Outline

Colloquially, a workaholic is a person who is addicted to work. There is no generally accepted medical definition of such a condition, although some forms of stress and obsessive-compulsive disorder can be work-related. Although the term "workaholic" usually has a negative connotation, it is sometimes used by people wishing to express their devotion to one's career in positive terms. The "work" in question is usually associated with a paying job, but it may also refer to independent pursuits such as sports, music, art, or blogging.

A "workaholic" in the negative sense is popularly characterized by a neglect of family and other social relations. The term has no clinical definition, however.

The name itself is a play on "alcoholic". It was first coined in 1971 by Wayne Oates in his book, Confessions of a Workaholic. It gained more widespread use in the 1990s, as the result of a wave of the self-help movement that centered on addiction, forming an analogy between harmful social behaviors such as over-work and drug addiction, including addiction to alcohol. Although "workaholic" is not an official medical or psychological term, it remains in widespread usage to refer to those whose expenditure of time on work and work-related issues leads to the detriment of their bodily health, social lives, family and domestic life, or leisure time.

Japan is often portrayed as having a workaholic culture. Several Japanese workers die each year from overwork. The Japanese term for death by overwork is karoshi. In cases where it can be proven that the cause of death was overwork, the family can seek compensation from the employer for its failure to intervene in the employee's self-destructive behavior.

References

External links

Workaholics Anonymous

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 {{OrgPsy}}
+Colloquially, a '''workaholic'''  is a person who is [[Addiction|addicted]] to work. There is no generally accepted medical definition of such a condition, although some forms of [[Stress (medicine)|stress]] and [[obsessive-compulsive disorder]] can be work-related.  Although the term "workaholic" usually has a negative connotation, it is sometimes used by people wishing to express their devotion to one's career in positive terms.  The "work" in question is usually associated with a paying job, but it may also refer to independent pursuits such as sports, music, art, or blogging.
-A '''workaholic'''  is a person [[Addiction|addicted]] to work. This addiction may be pleasurable to the victim or it may be burdensome and troubling.
+A "workaholic" in the negative sense is popularly characterized by a neglect of family and other social relations. The term has no clinical definition, however.
-Workaholism is believed by some to be a disease, akin to [[obsessive compulsive disorder]]. The problem is that workaholics believe that if they don't work, their world will collapse. Workaholics do not necessarily love their work or try to excel in their work. If a person thinks he or she is the only person capable of performing their work, he/she is most likely a workaholic. Although most workaholism is associated with a paying job, it can also be associated with people who excessively practice sports, music, art, blogging.
+The name itself is a [[back-formation|play]] on "alcoholic".  It was first coined in [[1971]] by Wayne Oates in his book, ''Confessions of a Workaholic''.  It gained more widespread use in the 1990s, as the result of a wave of the [[self-help]] movement that centered on [[addiction]], forming an analogy between harmful social behaviors such as [[over-work]] and [[drug addiction]], including addiction to [[alcohol]].  Although "workaholic" is not an official medical or psychological term, it remains in widespread usage to refer to those whose expenditure of time on work and work-related issues leads to the detriment of their bodily health, social lives, family and domestic life, or leisure time.
-The term is often used inaccurately to describe an energetic person who devotes a lot of time to work despite having good relations with co-workers, taking pleasure in other non-remunerative activities, being well rested, and attending properly to family and social life.
+[[Japan]] is often portrayed as having a workaholic culture.  Several Japanese workers die each year from overwork. The Japanese term for death by overwork is [[karoshi]]. In cases where it can be proven that the cause of death was overwork, the family can seek compensation from the employer for its failure to intervene in the employee's self-destructive behavior.
-The condition is more accurately described when it becomes recognized by the victim or by others to be detrimental to family life or social relations within or outside of work. This may be due to the victim's fatigue, poor relationships with non-addicted co-workers, or lack of time and energy devoted to family life, friends, hobbies, and other activities. Like [[alcoholism]], it can have a detrimental effect on the spouse and children of the workaholic, even resulting in [[child abuse]] in severe cases.
+==See also==
-The word itself is a play on "alcoholism," created via back-formation.  The term was first coined in [[1971]] by [[Wayne Oates]] in his book, ''[[Confessions of a Workaholic]]''.  It gained more widespread use in the 1990s, as the result of a wave of the [[self-help]] movement that centered around [[addiction]], analogizing harmful social behaviors such as overwork to [[drug addiction]], including addiction to [[alcohol]].
+* [[Workrave]] a software solution for "workaholic" behaviors
+== References ==
+<references />
-[[Japan]] is often portrayed as having a workaholic culture.  Several Japanese workers die each year from overwork. The Japanese term for death by overwork is [[karoshi]]. In cases where it can be proven that the cause of death was overwork, the family can seek compensation from the employer for its failure to intervene in the employee's self-destructive behavior.
 == External links ==
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 *[http://www.workaholics-anonymous.org Workaholics Anonymous]
-[[Category:Addiction]]
 [[Category:Employment]]
-[[Category:Organizational psychology
+[[Category:Organizational psychology]]
+[[Category:Addiction]]
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