Five signs of workaholism

While it may still be the dream of many an employer to hire workaholics, such an strategy never ends well and is certainly not one to be recommended. Contrary to popular belief, workaholics do work a lot but usually produce low quality. They are poor team players, often unable to concentrate due to an unbalanced personal and work life, and sooner or later they will either collapse or suffer burn-out. Workaholism is a serious mental state that an employer should be able to detect in employees and take appropriate measures. Here are five signs of workaholism you should beware of.

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Long working hours

The first and most typical sign of workaholism, according to HR Director, is long working hours of the employee. The worker arrives at work early and leaves late, then often continues to work at home even if this is not necessary. The time spent on work is unrelated to the demands of the current project. A workaholic works all the time, no matter what the circumstances.

Inability to refrain from working

Similar to other types of addictions, with workaholism too the given individual works even if they may previously have said they would not, or even at times when it is inappropriate. If, for example, someone is working on a computer during their honeymoon, something is not right.

Withdrawal symptoms

A workaholic, if unable to work, has withdrawal symptoms. They are angry, nervous and incapable of having fun. They repeatedly check their e-mail, make phone calls and feel like they are missing something.

Lower quality of work

With workaholism, the quality of work done goes down. In quantity terms, a workaholic wins over their colleagues regarding the number of hours they put in, but their creativity, judgment, patience and efficiency are all reduced due to their excessive efforts.

Exaggerated expectations of others

A workaholic does not acknowledge there is something wrong with them. On the contrary, they consider their state normal and ideal, and thus have high expectations of others. Having a workaholic as your boss therefore could be a real nightmare.

 

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Article source HR DIRECTOR - British website for HR directors and senior HR managers
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