Are You a Workaholic or Just a Hard Worker? Find Out Here.

“Workaholic.” Vile word. Implies I am not a normal functioning person.

I imagine an intruder who shadows me for a week and, as he logs my 60th hour of work, he enters another checkmark into the red column and makes a frowny face.

• Does the number of hours I work make me a workaholic? Or am I just a hard (and happy) worker?
• If I have the ability to work 60 hours a week for, say, 4 months, then take a sabbatical for a month … am I a workaholic? Or would the work-life gurus give me 5 stars for balance and a high-five for creating a new way of working … that works for me?

Workaholism is “the work addiction syndrome”.  James Fearing, Ph.D., states that some people are not even aware they have work addiction. “What they are aware of,” states Fearing, “is that life is not fun anymore, and that they are being affected at work and at home.”

A “workaholic” doesn’t have an accurate perception of his/her self. In other words, one’s self-image is tied to work (and this means screwed up); the addict is driven to perform even harder and to accomplish even more.  The addiction doesn’t favor one gender nor is it industry specific.

What this means is that careers can take on the importance of defining who we are, not what just what we do for a living.  For that reason, we’ll push harder and harder to perform and accomplish even more.  Intertwined in workaholism is the inability to relax, feel, and smell the scent of today’s success.

All that makes a scratchy sound in my head, since in today’s world, if you’ve lost your job, looking for options in a dead-end career or are trying to transition to another field, we ARE pretty much immersing ourselves in work-related activities for more time than we’re lollying on the beach. (Couldn’t this be called “perserverance” in the midst of a challenge?)

Sometimes I think I qualify as a workaholic and other times, I just know I’m not.  True and genuine workaholics might tell me flatly that I’m just one of them – a genuine workaholic in denial – and I should hightail it to their annual conference of Workaholics Anonymous World Service that begins next Friday through Sunday, October 29-31^st, in Menlo Park, California. Newcomers can meet with recovering workaholics to share their experience, strength and hope.

Sorry, not attending. The results of quiz below – called Work Rules – did not identify me as a workaholic.  Ta ta ta, drumroll and now – disclosure.  I just barely slipped into that “hard worker” category. So close to the label “Mildly Workaholic,”  I am leaving myself with one final thought.

I might be a workaholic if it weren’t for the fact that in my heart I don’t feel like one.  Does this qualify as touchy-feely denial?

Your turn.

This 25-question quiz from Bryan Robinson’s book, Chained to the Desk, sorts distinctions between being a hard worker versus a workaholic. Robinson’s quiz is called simply Work Rules?

Are you a hard worker or are you a workaholic? Rate yourself on the Work Addiction Risk Test (WART) using a rating scale of 1 (never true), 2 (sometimes true), 3 (often true) or 4 (always true).

1. I prefer to do most things rather than to ask for help.
2. I get impatient when I have to wait for someone else or when something takes too long.
3. I seem to be in a hurry and racing against the clock.
4. I get irritated when I am interrupted while I am in the middle of something.
5. I stay busy and keep many irons in the fire.
6. I find myself doing two or three things at one time.
7. I overcommit myself by biting off more than I can chew.
8. I feel guilty when I m not working on something.
9. It’s important that I see the concrete results of what I do.
10. I am more interested in the final result of my work than in the process.
11. Things just never seem to move fast enough or get done fast enough for me.
12. I lose my temper when things don’t go my way or work out to suit me.
13. I ask the same questions over and over again without realizing it, after I’ve already been given the answer once.
14. I spend a lot of time mentally planning and thinking about future events while tuning out the here and now.
15. I find myself continuing to work after my coworkers have called it quits.
16. I get angry when people don’t meet my standards of perfection.
17. I get upset when I am in situations where I cannot be in control.
18. I tend to put myself under pressure from self-imposed deadlines when I work.
19. It is hard for to relax when I’m not working.
20. I spend more time working than socializing with friends or on hobbies or leisure activities.
21. I dive intro projects to get a head start before all the phases have been finalized.
22. I get upset with myself for making even the smallest mistake.
23. I put more thought, time and energy into my work than I do into my relationships with loved ones and friends.
24. I forget, ignore or minimize celebrations such as birthdays, reunion, anniversaries or holidays.
25. I make important decisions before I have all the facts and have a chance to think them through.

TOTAL:_______

KEY.

• 67-100: You are considered highly workaholic.  It could mean you’re on your way to burnout, and research suggests that family members may be experiencing emotional repercussions as well.
• 57-66: You are considered mildly workaholic, but there is hope.  With acceptance and modification, you and your loved ones can prevent negative lasting effects.
• 25-56: You are probably a hard worker instead of a workaholic.  You needn’t worry that your work style will negatively affect yourself or others.