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Created page with "{{Short description|Person who works compulsively}} {{Other uses}} {{more medical citations needed|date=June 2015}} A '''workaholic''' is a person who works Compulsive behav..."

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{{Short description|Person who works compulsively}}
{{Other uses}}
{{more medical citations needed|date=June 2015}}
A '''workaholic''' is a person who works [[Compulsive behavior|compulsively]]. The term originates from [[alcoholism]]. The person works at the cost of their sleep, and social functions such as meeting friends or family. While the term doesn't necessarily imply that the person enjoys their work, it can imply that they simply feel compelled to do it.

There is no generally accepted medical definition of such a condition, although some forms of [[Stress (medicine)|stress]], [[impulse control disorder]], [[obsessive-compulsive personality disorder]], and [[obsessive-compulsive disorder]] can be work-related; '''ergomania''' is defined as "excessive devotion to work especially as a symptom of mental illness".<ref name="Merriam-Webster Medical Dictionary 2021">{{cite web | title=Medical Definition of ERGOMANIA | website=Merriam-Webster Medical Dictionary | date=February 5, 2021 | url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/medical/ergomania | access-date=February 5, 2021}}</ref><ref name="Van HoudenhoveNeerinckx1999">{{cite journal|last1=Van Houdenhove|first1=Boudewijn|last2=Neerinckx|first2=Eddy|title=Is "Ergomania" a Predisposing Factor to Chronic Pain and Fatigue?|journal=Psychosomatics|volume=40|issue=6|year=1999|pages=529–530|issn=0033-3182|doi=10.1016/S0033-3182(99)71197-7|pmid=10581987}}</ref>

'''Hustle culture''' is a [[neologism]] for workaholism, related to excessive devotion towards one's work to the exclusion of every other aspect of one's life, creating an unhealthy [[work–life balance]].<ref name="nyt">{{cite news |last=Griffith |first=Erin |date=January 26, 2019 |title=Why Are Young People Pretending to Love Work?|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/26/business/against-hustle-culture-rise-and-grind-tgim.html |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |access-date=July 14, 2019}}</ref><ref name="forbes">{{cite news |last=Da Costa |first=Celinne |date=April 28, 2019 |title=Stop Idolizing Hustle Culture And Do This Instead |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/celinnedacosta/2019/04/28/stop-idolizing-hustle-culture-and-do-this-instead/ |newspaper=[[Forbes]] |access-date=July 14, 2019}}</ref>

==Etymology==
The word itself is a [[portmanteau|portmanteau word]] composed of ''[[Wage labour|work]]'' and ''[[alcoholic]]''. Its first known appearance, according to the ''[[Oxford English Dictionary]]'', came in Canada in the ''[[Toronto Daily Star]]'' of April 5, 1947, page 6, with a punning allusion to [[Alcoholics Anonymous]]:

{{Quote|If you are cursed with an unconquerable craving for work, call Workaholics Synonymous, and a reformed worker will aid you back to happy idleness.<ref>"workaholic, n. and adj." in ''Oxford English Dictionary'' Third Edition (September 2014)</ref>}}

== Details ==
The term ''workaholic'' refers to various types of behavioral patterns, with each having its own valuation. For instance, workaholism is sometimes used by people wishing to express their devotion to one's career in positive terms. The "work" in question is usually associated with a paying job, but it may also refer to independent pursuits such as sports, music, art, and science. However, the term is more often used to refer to a negative behavioral pattern that is popularly characterized by spending an excessive amount of time on working, an inner compulsion to work hard and a neglect of family and other social relations.

Researchers have found that in many cases, incessant work-related activity continues even after impacting the subject's relationships and physical health. Causes of it are thought to be anxiety, low self-esteem, and intimacy problems. Furthermore, workaholics tend to have an inability to delegate work tasks to others and tend to obtain high scores on personality traits such as [[neuroticism]], [[perfectionism (psychology)|perfectionism]], and [[conscientiousness]].

Clinical psychologist [[Bryan E. Robinson]] identifies two axes for workaholics: work initiation and work completion. He associates the behavior of [[procrastination]] with both "Savoring Workaholics" (those with low work initiation/low work completion) and "Attention-Deficit Workaholics" (those with high work initiation and low work completion), in contrast to "Bulimic" and "Relentless" workaholics – both of whom have high work completion.<ref name="ROBINSON2001">{{cite book |last=Robinson |first=Bryan E. |title=Chained to the Desk: A Guidebook for Workaholics, Their Partners and Children, and the Clinicians Who Treat Them |year=2001 |publisher=New York University Press |isbn=0-8147-7480-6 |location=New York |page=[https://archive.org/details/chainedtodeskgui00robi/page/62 62] |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/chainedtodeskgui00robi/page/62 }}</ref>

Workaholism in Japan is considered a serious social problem leading to early death, often on the job, a phenomenon dubbed ''[[karōshi]]''. Overwork was popularly blamed for the fatal [[stroke]] of [[Prime Minister of Japan]] [[Keizō Obuchi]], in the year 2000.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/701458.stm |title=Japan's workaholic culture |author=Daniel Griffiths |date=April 4, 2000 |publisher=BBC News Online |access-date=October 12, 2007}}</ref> Death from overwork is not a uniquely Japanese phenomenon; in 2013, a Bank of America intern in London died after working for 72 hours straight.<ref>{{cite web|title=Bank of America To Improve Working Conditions After Intern Death|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/01/10/intern-death-bank-of-america_n_4576654.html|access-date=August 4, 2015}}</ref>

Workaholics tend to be less effective than other workers because they have difficulty working as part of a team, trouble delegating or entrusting co-workers or organizational problems due to taking on too much work at once.<ref name="fastcompany.com">{{cite web|url=http://www.fastcompany.com/blog/ray-williams/leadership-edge/hidden-costs-workaholism |title=The Hidden Costs of Workaholism |publisher=Fast Company |date=July 9, 2009 |access-date=July 28, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110607063904/http://www.fastcompany.com/blog/ray-williams/leadership-edge/hidden-costs-workaholism |archive-date=June 7, 2011}}</ref> Moreover, workaholics often suffer [[sleep deprivation]], which results in impaired brain and cognitive function.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.fi.edu/learn/brain/sleep.html |title=The Human Brain - Sleep and Stress |publisher=Fi.edu |date=September 27, 2007 |access-date=July 28, 2010 | archive-date=January 7, 2013 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130107202300/http://www.fi.edu/learn/brain/sleep.html}}</ref>

The business risk that workaholism presents is an underestimated risk in companies and human resources management, which can develop into an existential threat to a business.<ref name="MEISSNER2018">{{cite book |last=Meissner |first=Ulrike Emma |title=Business Risk Workaholism, Management challenges and action guidelines for professional practice |year=2018 |publisher=Berlin Peter Lang |isbn=978-3-631-76634-7 |location=Berlin}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[Burnout]]
* [[Karoshi]]
* [[Downshifting (lifestyle)]]
* [[Money-rich, time-poor]]
* [[Presenteeism]]
* [[Workplace stress]]
* [[Power harassment]]
* [[Work aversion]]
* [[Workaholics Anonymous]]
* [[Work ethic]]
* [[Protestant work ethic]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://www.eco.utexas.edu/faculty/Hamermesh/Workaholism.pdf The Economics of Workaholism]

{{Addiction}}
{{Employment}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Working time]]
[[Category:Obsessive–compulsive disorder]]
[[Category:Stereotypes]]

Workaholic - Revision history

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