`` Confessions Of A Workaholic `` By Wayne Oates

In the article “ The Busy Trap” Kreider tries to convince readers to chose time over money. He makes numerous points including how boasting about busyness takes the form of a complaint. He insults those who voluntarily take on obligations by remarking that they are obsessed with always being occupied. However, the basis for such a conclusion is founded on only a few examples of individuals who were negatively affected by the burden of work. In Kreider’s opinion it is wasteful to be busy all the time because life is too short to work more than 5 hours per day and not spend enough time in one’s happy place. What is your happy place? Picture it and stay there for a while letting your thoughts flow. Notice that your thinking becomes more positive and somewhat out of reach. Next, imagine a life with minimal stress that includes little to no work and much enjoyment; now you 're floating back to reality because that type of life is not in the grasps of most. Similarly, Kreider writes his article as if most people have plenty of time to waste, and to enjoy themselves, as he has. Kreider’s overall point that people keep themselves busy to escape the feelings of emptiness is both ignorant and a reflection of his narrow perspective of the world. His opinion that people feel apprehensive when not working, along with the fact that most people wouldn’t be content living the lifestyle Kreider is promoting, plus his support towards the propositions of full unemployment and a

“He worked himself to death, finally, and precisely at 3:00 am Sunday morning.” Although humans need a purpose in life, those who live on the clock often find himself being controlled by the clock, perishing in the process. In “The Company Man,” Ellen Goodman criticizes Phil’s workaholic attitude to showcase her disapproval toward our society based on work.

Roszak makes a point in his essay about jobs being our salvation, where he describe there is no end to a working life. Roszak describes the waste of time in people’s jobs and that most employees don’t even put all of their effort into them. He figures

What’s more, the author explained the transformation of the meaning in the term “workaholism” and poses the different working attitude between Americans and Europeans again (Clausen 121). The word “workaholism” seems like

The theme of overemployment is a current problem in the United States. Americans are overworked. Workload has increased and society has experienced a loss of leisure. Overemployment and overworked can be defined as negative effects that occur when individuals are required to work more hours than they want to work. “Personal perceptions of workload are critical, as individuals have diverse reactions to the number of hours worked depending on their needs, lifestyle, expectations, and experiences. Individuals have different tolerances for demands and stress. While many, including professionals

A recent study shows that 7 out of 10 people are unhappy with their jobs Gallup polls. This unhappiness is shown in many poems, in Hard Work by Stephen Dunn you can observe the unhappiness of workers that are forced to work to make ends meet. Many people are unhappy with their jobs because of the system in America, much unlike the American dream people have been taught to know not everything is achievable. Many people cannot break the chains of debt or lack of education and as a result are forced to work dead end jobs. As a result unhappiness is almost contagious as well, in Singapore by Mary Oliver unhappiness spreads from person to person through a connectedness everyone feels known as humanity. In Night Waitress by Lynda Hull it shows that

Workaholism is a disorder that has ruined the lives of many individuals. The need to work can over shadow and dominate a person. Workaholism is a disorders that is driven by the person themselves. Shifron (1999) writes that the disorder itself not only dramatically affects the person but “also negatively affects the individual’s entire family system and society. This disorder dramatically takes a toll on the person’s mental and physical ability to deal with everyday reality. A workaholic may even fantasize about work during leisure time and family events (Snir, 2008). To a workaholic their drive to work is viewed as a gift or luxury to their loved ones. But in reality working is an escape from the problems, hardships, and insecurities a workaholic has. In this article workaholism is shown as a disorder that can easily ruin lives ranging from the workaholic to those in close proximity. Workaholism can easily be noticed and employers should take the necessary steps to help a workaholic out of their habits. Plotrowski and Vondanovich (2008) suggest that employers “encourage workaholics to participate in counseling.”

The non-fictional novel The Addict offers a current perspective through the author’s eyes, Michael Stein, into the trials and tribulations that one has to go through when being an opiate addict. The processes that addicts go through becomes instantly examinable, offering insight into how individuals become addicted and what they go through while trying to become rehabilitated. Lucy Fields is the main patient described by Michael Stein in this book. Lucy is addicted to Vicodin and has been addicted for a number of years. Despite many social stigmas associated around addicts, becoming addicted to anything does not happen in a short amount of time. The context in which a person is living, their socioeconomic status, their social support and perceived social support are all factors in becoming addicted or rehabilitated. Throughout the book Michael Stein speaks about multiple patients and refers to buprenorphine as the primary prescribed drug for opiate users, he also refers to methadone treatment. The effectiveness of buprenorphine was shown through the book and how it is, with the help of adequate social and medical support, a viable option with regards to treating opiate addiction.

II. What consequences do workaholics suffer? a. In the article “Job burnout: How to spot it and take action” by Mayo Clinic on 2012 it is said that overworking can cause excessive stress, depression, anxiety, heart disease, insomnia, obesity and other threatening health issues. b. Another important fact that needs to be stated is that not only are workaholics affecting their health but the ones on their family circle.

What is your response when someone asks you for your opinion about overworked Americans? Schabner states “Americans work more than anyone in the industrialized world.” In other words, Schabner is saying that compared to other countries America is so high up in the working world that a majority of our people are workaholics (Schabner Americans). Even though some argue Americans are lazy and depend on the government, Americans are overworked because overworking causes physical and mental damage, and the more hours a person works the less productive they are.

There has always been a common misconception that we must work hard to find success. In some cases this is true. However according to Ellen Goodman in her article “The Company Man” success is not measured through how many hours a person works a week, but how we choose to live our life. Goodman’s article targets the atypical hard working middle class who tend to dedicate their entire lives to their job; in this case a 51 year old workaholic man named Phil who worked himself to death. She explains how the life’s of these type of people slowly deteriorates. She describes Phil as an overweight man who has no hobbies nor is involved with anything out side of work including his family. We must evaluate what is important in life and not have our whole lives revolve around work. It is important we prioritize family, have hobbies, and realize that we are just an employee nothing else.

Working is one of the Ten Commandments it "is not a burdensome command; it is an invitation to freedom" (40.). This being stated Josef Pieper, "a twentieth-century German Catholic philosopher,

In Alina Tugend’s article “Multitasking Can Make You Lose…Um…Focus,” the author discusses the dangers of attempting to multitask. Life in the twenty-first century tends to be fast paced which is one of the reasons why there is so much multitasking. Because we want everything fast, we try to get as many things accomplished in the shortest amount of time. According to “The Cost of Interrupted Work: More Speed and Stress,” a study that from April of 2007, while multitasking one is not able to produce as much. University of California professor Gloria Marks noticed that multitasking resulted in higher stress levels, workload, frustration, and pressure; such factors may bring about results that are less than acceptable.

Nobody can tell exactly how but there is a theory that workaholism starts at really early stages of life. Marilyn Machlowitz says in her book Workaholics supports this theory and says that this whole process starts when children play games that are connected with real time jobs or they play games connected with getting money such as selling lemonade or old magazines. She also says that children of workaholics are about to become ones in their later life development. The addiction to the child of a workaholic is not passed actively. The workaholics don’t tell their children to work or not to work a lot. The reason is that children often want to be as successful as their parents. Machlowitz later on in her book also says that some children think if they don’t show the best results in school their parents will not love them and therefore start working more than they should. But however it is not only the childhood that makes people workaholics. Although it might be the best period to make person think like a workaholic, the adult phase of life is the most important. The most common target of workaholism is people that have high responsibility jobs. Their motivation is fear. Workaholics on high positions just hate to fail and feel inferior to all other workers that are bellow them. Therefore they are double-checking all possibilities that are

"Work" is a positive thing for many people. To some people, it may be described as a place to escape from the kids, or even a time consumption thing for a single or retired person, but most importantly it is what we do in order to provide for our families and ourselves. Work is something that we all will experience at one time or another during our lives.