If you answer "yes" to three or more of these questions you may be a workaholic. You are not alone.

Workaholic

Unlike people who simply work very hard, workaholics never punch out. They always feel like they are on the clock, 24/7, physically, mentally and emotionally working. They are more genuinely enthusiastic about work than anything else in their lives, even family and friends. There's nothing that person would rather be doing than working.

If you're a workaholic, you can't stop thinking about work. Work issues distract you from relationships and those thoughts speed through your mind as you lie in bed at night. A part of you is always longing to get back to work. Nothing – not eating, socializing, sleeping – is as satisfying.

Here's a good way to think of it: An ordinary hard worker will be on the job, thinking about shopping with friends. A workaholic will be out shopping with friends, but will be thinking nonstop about work.

Workaholics are very controlling. They can't delegate and are not usually interested in being team players. They are perfectionists and nothing is ever good enough for them. Workaholics would rather handle everything themselves, which doesn't always produce the necessary results because often we need the input and help of others.

A workaholic also has a troubled personal life. Typically, workaholics don't have many friends or hobbies. Their personal relationships are in disarray. They have difficulty with intimacy because work is always on their minds. And of course, there is a ripple effect in the families of workaholics. Couples in a workaholic marriage tended to have twice the divorce rate as those in non-workaholic marriages. We know that all marriages take work, but that's not the type of work that a workaholic wants to focus on.

Further, there is the effect on the children. Research has also found that children of workaholics have a higher rate of depression and anxiety mainly because that workaholic parent has placed severely high expectations on his or her kids, which links back to that desire for perfection.

And there are health concerns for workaholics, caused by the extreme levels of stress they suffer. They often eat poorly, don't exercise, and in short, they take poor care of their physical and emotional well being.

Am I A Workaholic?

Do you get more excited about your work than about family or anything else?

Do you take work with you to bed? On weekends? On vacation?

Is work the activity you like to do best and talk about most?

Do you work more than 40 hours a week?

Do you take complete responsibility for the outcome of your work efforts?

Do you take on extra work because you are concerned that it won't otherwise get done?

Do you underestimate how long a project will take and then rush to complete it?

Do you believe that it is okay to work long hours if you love what you are doing?

Do you get impatient with people who have other priorities besides work?

Are you afraid that if you don't work hard you will lose your job or be a failure?

Is the future a constant worry for you even when things are going very well?

Do you do things energetically and competitively, including play?

Do you get irritated when people ask you to stop doing your work in order to do something else?

Have your long hours hurt your family or other relationships?

Do you work or read during meals?

Do you believe that more money will solve the other problems in your life?

If you answer "yes" to three or more of these questions you may be a workaholic. You are not alone.

Compiled by Erin Bouma

Date: 2015-12-18; view: 912