Someone referred to as a hard worker normally enjoys positive career aspirations and more opportunities for workplace growth. Long hours on the job are associated with a deep sense of commitment to your role and allow you to get more work done. Whilst aspiring to achieve your career potential is, in fact, a positive trait, balance is key and ensuring that it does not come at the expense of health, family and relationships can be quite tricky.
The repercussions can be quite complex, and can end up impacting your career negatively in the long term. Such consequences may include marital breakdown and a strenuous relationship with your children. In this article we discuss some of the signs which indicate that you may be a workaholic.
Always talking about work
One of the clear signs of a workaholic is that work tends to be the main subject matter in most of his discussions. Whether it is a conversation with the spouse during dinner or with your friends in a casual meet-up, you will always end up discussing the happenings of work. With this sort of approach, you will never disconnect as work will take a significant part of your personal life and your existence will revolve mainly around the job.
Control freak
Another trait of workaholics is their inability to delegate and place responsibility on someone else from their team. The mindset of workaholics is that if something is to be done right, it has to be completed by themselves.
Device Attachment
A workaholic finds it difficult to disconnect from work and is therefore constantly hooked to his smartphone or laptop. This behaviour takes place during inappropriate times as well, such as dinner or other family time moments. The fear of not having control over situations or missing out on an email or some information makes workaholics constantly hooked.
No friends
People who spend most of their hours at work will probably find it difficult to make time for anything else, including their friends! With the lack of communication, you may no longer have a strong bond with your friends and will find it difficult to make new ones.
Excessive days of leave
Most of your colleagues are already complaining that they do not have enough leave days till the end of the year. Others are planning their vacations, having just come back from the last. You, on the other hand, have not even consumed last year’s vacation leave. You need to manage your personal time better!
Desk Break
You are rarely seen at the work canteen. This is due to the fact that you eat and drink at your desk so as to ensure that no time is wasted. Skiving off your break may allow you to leave the office at a less ungodly hour.
Skipping on sick days
A workaholic on a mission will not allow a cold or fever to stop him from going to work. He will argue that he is not sick and will insist on going to work. They will use over-the-counter medicines to feel the impacts of their sickness less and can function throughout the day. Apart from the fact that it is detrimental for one’s health to go to work sick, it is also problematic for other colleagues who may be infected.
No time for your kids
A common behaviour of the workaholic. Having no time for your children when they are growing up will come back to haunt you. The guilt felt by those who had little time for their children due to their work is a common feeling. Although we may think that children will respect the fact that they always had the money to address their needs, the one main thing of importance is the time their parents allocate for them.
Perhaps now is the best time to take a step back and enjoy what really matters most in life.
