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Addicted to Work? Six Tips!

Kate Lorenz | Friday 27 June 2008 | 10:22

Do you get more excited about your work than about family or anything else? Do you take work with you to bed? On weekends? On holiday? Here are six pointers to help you consider whether or not work is controlling your life.

1. Not enough time in the day

For some people, a 24 hour day simply isn't enough. Many individuals are squeezing more working time out of their day from the comfort of their bedrooms. One-in-six people taking part in a DuPont survey admitted they catch up on work in bed and one-third said they make work-related phone calls from under the duvet. Others admitted to using their laptops and sending e-mails from the bedroom.

2. Too little sleep

More than one-third of British residents are sleeping six hours or less each night - losing a month's sleep every year. Barbara, the wife of Italian billionaire Stefano Pessina, who masterminded the takeover of Boots, complained, "Even when he goes to sleep at night, his mind mulls over work. He is obsessed with it. I know that during the takeover of Boots he was up doing deals until 6am." Dr. Peter Venn, director of the Sleep Studies Unit of Queen Victoria Hospital in Sussex, warns, "If you go to bed with a whirring brain, your brain will continue to whirr afterwards."

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3. Working harder not smarter

British IT directors are unproductive workaholics, according to research by IT outfit Mercury. Mercury found that one-third worked between 48 and 60 hours a week, while one-in-ten said they worked more than 60 hours a week. Said Elie Kanaan, VP strategy, Mercury: "Businesses in UK are still concerned with employment issues that have been well publicised in the media, such as stress and sick leave but many are still not aware of the real risks of low productivity that are costing businesses daily."

4. Feeling guilty

Yell.com has found that British workers would rather forgo a lunch break in order to sort out their lives. It seems that as we cram more into our working day, many of us simply don't have the time to do those small essential things such as booking to visit the dentist or buying birthday presents. Celebrity life coach Suzy Greaves advises, "Just taking some time out to sort pressing tasks like finding a local plumber or booking appointments will mean you feel more in control of your life and less stressed."

5. Low self-esteem

Our sense of self-esteem is based largely on our perceptions of how others judge our performance at work and in other areas of our lives. Gina Gardiner was a former headmistress who put in 16 hours a day. Now a life coach, she was so concerned by the state of Britain's workforce that shes set up a support group. Recovering Workaholics aims to improve self esteem by giving workers a structured social life and the chance to put something into the community through charity work.

6. Not taking a holiday

Research by the holiday firm Travel Choice found that men are far less likely than women to take all their annual leave. Two-in-five employees said they were too busy to take their full entitlement. Another survey by the Chartered Management Institute found people put in 36 million hours of free overtime, giving bosses almost £1 billion in unpaid work every year. Cary Cooper, professor of organisational psychology and health at the University of Manchester's School of Management, feels the British were now the 'workaholics of Europe. He remarks, "A holiday is not a treat or an indulgence. It is absolutely vital to UK plc for people to take their breaks."

Jo Causon, corporate marketing director at the Chartered Management Institute, summarises, "It's long been accepted that the pressure to perform has led to Britain becoming a nation of workaholics. However, the hours people put in do not always guarantee optimum results, because quantity is not the same as quality."

If you feel more wedded to your desk than to your partner, try to find respite by negotiating alternative work schedules, finding additional time with the family, or even exploring new career options. For more severe work issues, however, a support group may offer relief, such as Workaholics Anonymous. Visit www.workaholics-anonymous.org, which has details of UK meetings. 

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