Work occupies an important place in adult life and has the potential to become the priority that defines one’s life, taking precedence over any other circumstance. In this situation, what we know as work addicts or, with the more commonly known English term, workaholics, may emerge.
Dr. Barbara Killinger explains that “a workaholic is someone so obsessed with work that they gradually become emotionally incapable and compulsively addicted to power and control, in order to obtain approval and public recognition of their successes.” The title of one of her books is already a warning: “Workaholics. The Respectable Addicts. A Family Survival Guide.”
What consequences affect workaholics?
The accelerated and obsessive lifestyle adopted by workaholics entails harmful consequences for their physical and mental health. Such as panic attacks, depression, sleep disturbances, fatigue, irritability, stress, and anxiety.
It often becomes impossible to maintain relationships with other people. Since they cannot disconnect when they arrive home and avoid social contact situations unless they are work-related.
Generally, work addicts tend to be perfectionists and addicted to the adrenaline resulting from excessive work. The obsession with work can be triggered by the emergence of personal problems. In this way, they shield their minds 24 hours a day with controllable matters such as work and thus escape from a less conflictive reality. There is also a greater risk of work addiction when the person holds a position of responsibility or believes they can achieve a promotion. Frequently, the most common element tends to be the need for recognition and acceptance.
What is Karoshi?
Past the first decade of the 21st century, in Japan, a work-related term from the 80s is once again in the news: “Karoshi,” which would literally translate as “death from overwork.” After World War II, work became the central vital interest in Japan. And it shaped a first-rate workaholic culture. Over time, endless workdays have led to problems that include death as a workplace accident.
Whether as a response to given situations or as a result of the internalized demands of a culture, abusive dedication to work in terms of hours and emotional and intellectual involvement is producing karoshi situations and not only in Japan.
Is it necessary to reach a fatal outcome to reflect on the way some people perform their work?
We operate in the difficult realm of respectable addiction. Even, from certain value systems, desirable.
It is already difficult to prevent or recover from addiction to certain socially tolerated substances such as alcohol. And work addiction presents even more complex challenges. Those who suffer from it pose problems of adequate diagnosis. And the rehabilitation process presents characteristics very different from the typical idea of the addict and addiction. However, it remains the manifestation of an addictive behavior that can have its treatment.
