relax
A CEO of a reputed
organisation once said he
had been working more than
90 to 100 hours a week for
many years, and jokingly
added that he should have
done more. We’ve also heard
of numerous organisations
dishing out cash rewards and
appreciation certificates for
employees not taking a single
day of leave for a minimum
of three years. In yet another
case, a jet-setting CEO was
proudly patting his own back,
stating that he loved his work
so much that he often did
not see his wife or children
for several weeks, and that
he was unable to remember
when was the last time he
took a couple of days off to be
on vacation.
It seems that such cases are increasing at
an exponential rate. You can very easily
spot such people constantly talking on
their mobile phones, checking their hand
held devices for text messages, or always
checking their laptops for never-ending
emails, and so on. Such people have their
hands and minds occupied with projects,
countless unfinished tasks, endless
meetings and emails, while believing they
are setting the benchmark as role models
to others.
In a global study conducted by Accenture
titled “Defining Success” in March 2013,
more than 53% of business executives
surveyed around the world declared
themselves as workaholics. These
people might believe they are expressing
“devotion” to “going the extra mile” for
the organisations they belong to, but in
fact, such habits are nothing to be proud
of. Workaholics are always driven by deep
internal needs, rather than external ones,
and do not realise the difference between
being a workaholic and working hard.
If you’re a workaholic, here’s why you
should be ashamed of yourself:
1. Delusions of Efficiency – Super
workaholics are not necessarily the most
efficient people, even if they stubbornly
work 18 hours a day. In fact, they just
might just turn out to be the least efficient
of them all. They may appear to be
working, but internally their brains would
have switched off. The ideas they generate
when the brain and essential body systems
turn off, is a result of frustration and
lethargy from long hours of contemplating,
and is hardly sustainable.
2. Far From Perfect – Workaholics often
believe themselves to be perfectionists
and role models, and often the media
also portrays them as such. But in reality
they are neither perfectionists, nor can
be role models to anyone sensible and
knowledgeable about the hazards of
overwork. They may have plenty of hollow
followers who are as insane as themselves,
but no sensible person will agree or
appreciate this kind of burnout.
Get a
Life
7 Reasons Why
Workaholics Have
Nothing to be
Proud of
34
Family & Life • Sept 2013
Workaholics often believe
themselves to be perfectionists
and role models, and often the
media also portrays them as
such. But in reality they are
neither perfectionists, nor can
be role models...
3. Personality Disorders – High
workaholics suffer from a disease called
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and
an inability to let go. Most of them
also struggle with what we call the
indispensability syndrome, an obsession
to constantly prove something “great”
every minute of the day. They cannot bear
the thought of being “left out”, and always
want to be involved in everything. They are
terrified of being not kept in the loop, and
are unable to delegate. And they believe
nothing can work if they are not involved.
4. Addiction to Appreciation –
Excessive workaholics are appreciationseeking addicts with an insatiable craving
for recognition. They are likely to suffer
from a deep inferiority complex, and try
to alleviate this by proving they are able
to work for long hours and days without
taking a break. Just like drugs, once a
person gets into this habit, it is very
difficult for them to stop. They constantly
seek acknowledgement and will keep
doing things to garner more recognition,
even if their minds and bodies refuse to
tag along.
5. Poor Physical and Mental Health
– Working non-stop is perhaps the
lousiest of habits at the workplace. It is
also the perfect road to ruining your
health and causing grief to your loved
ones. A 24-year-old employee of a
multinational advertising agency made
international headlines earlier this year
for having passed away from “overwork”
at the company’s Beijing office. It was
reported that he did not leave work before
11 pm every night for an entire month,
and eventually died in his office of a heart
attack. While it is uncertain whether
overwork was really the cause of his
demise, it brings to attention how every
workplace and home requires mentally
and physically balanced individuals who
can create a pleasant atmosphere, rather
than one of chaos, stress and constant
pressure.
6. Ignorance and Denial –
Workaholics often don’t know they are
being labeled as such. Again exhibiting
traits of a typical addict, they ignore the
reality of how their workaholic lifestyle
and habits affect their family and coworkers, and often lose their own unique
personality traits to the endless cycle
of slaving away at their jobs. When
confronted by friends, co-workers or
family about their workaholic lifestyle,
it is likely that they will deny being
workaholics and continue persisting in
denial and destructive behavior.
7. A Lifetime of Regret – Finally, no
one on their death bed ever says, “I wish I
could have worked more.”
And we can conclude this chapter with
a great quote from Bertrand Russell,
‘One of the symptoms of an approaching
nervous breakdown is the belief that one’s
work is terribly important.’
This article was adapted from Workaholics are Not
Role Models by Thejendra B.S, first published on the
author’s website, www.thejendra.com