Our World Is Increasingly Being Taken Over By Workaholics.

There is data to support the idea of a mother taking time off or a woman reducing her working hours to part-time will hurt her significantly in the career world. The reason for this sudden break in a woman’s career being motherhood. The most popular reason for working less hours is in a law firm is for a mother to take care of her child. Taking this additional time off decreases the chances of the mother receiving a partnership immensely. When doing this, the mother also risks the idea of herself being seen as “not serious about her career”, permanently damaging her chances of promotion at the private practice. However, mothers are no less likely than childless women to receive a

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 stigma of the sedentary lifestyle is not limited to working. Many sedentary habits develop at ones home. Watching television and playing on the computer have proven to be one of the least engaging metabolic activities. Riding, driving and reading have proven to have higher metabolic rates then watching television or playing a game on the computer. Working and watching television consumes many American’s time (Medical Center). Based on a study done in 2012 the average American under the age of two watches approximately thirty-four hours of live television a week and three to six hours watching taped programs a week (Hinckley). In the end, a small fraction of the day is left to burn calories and raise ones metabolic rate (Medical Center).

There is a correlation between postpartum and physiological and psychological health issues (Chatterji, 2004). Studies also found that inadequate time away from work after giving birth spurs postpartum therefore, paid maternity leave needs to be addressed to alleviate these results since recent mothers with limited financial resources tend to return to work sooner than they should. Also, it is difficult for working mothers to juggle a demanding work environment while caring for an infant at home. The stress of trying to balance the two has shown to weaken the immune system which causes other health problems down the road. According to Chatterji, returning to work too early also comes with consequences including numerous psychological conditions but most particularly depression. Chatterji also states that these negative symptoms can be reduced incrementally by increasing the time of maternity leave.

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.

This data shows that both males and females are spending too much time being sedentary. This is a big issue and has been seen to cause increased rates of obesity, diabetes, cancer and heart disease later in life.

New mothers, depending on their work history and hours worked, can get from fifteen to fifty two weeks off. Journalist Covert states that in America, “They’re guaranteed twelve weeks of unpaid time off.” What Covert really means is that if a mother is gone for twelve weeks, they do not get paid the time they take off but still have their job (Bryce Workaholism). What also came across while researching was how four to six percent of workers are overworked because their bosses make them even if they do not want to. Carmichael notes what one employee told her during an interview, “We work long hours because our bosses tell us to.” In other words, Carmichael along with everyone who read her article noticed that even if some people did not want to work more hours they would kind of have to in order to keep their jobs (Sarah Long). Maybe if the workers got paid more then would not mind

In Sumathi Reddy’s article “The Price We Pay for Sitting Too Much”, Reddy briefly examines the harms of sedentary behaviour. She suggests that in order to avoid them, one must do no more then increase the time they spend standing throughout the day. The article is aimed at working adults and suggest multiple schedules for increasing time on your feet and consequently, reducing sedentary behaviour. Some of the routines suggested are unrealistic for a busy person, such as the one preposed by Dr. Allan Hedge and Nasa. Hedge suggests that every thirty minutes, one should spend 20 minutes seated, 8 minutes standing and 2 minutes walking or stretching. Nasa’s recommended routine is simpler, but still slightly impractical. They suggest that one should

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.

New evidence today suggest that the more hours that you sit, the greater likelihood of dying an earlier death regardless of how much you exercise, or how lean you are ( Masters, 2010). The fact is that millions of Americans think they are being healthy by working out at the gym on a daily basis. These people do not realize that the exercise they are doing in the gym is not able to counteract the effects of the “desk job.” These same people think they are living an active life by working out on almost a daily basis. The truth is that this is considered to be living an inactive lifestyle. The red flag is now raised. These same people that work out at the gym daily are now grouped into the dreaded sedentary lifestyle. Being a member of this group increases your chances of diabetes, cancer, high blood pressure, and coronary artery disease. On top of all this, it increases the chances of obesity. Obesity notably increases when a person is living a sedentary lifestyle.

Increases in this type of behaviour has been associated with significant increases in the risk of developing chronic diseases with an increase of 112% relative risk of diabetes being reported by Wilmot et al (2012). A significant amount of research is now being conducted into the effect that prolonged sitting, as a sedentary behaviour, has on the risk of type-2 diabetes. The main effect of sitting idle for a prolonged amount of time is that the muscles required for upright movement such as the legs, back and truck, become redundant. The result of this is that we consequently decrease the energy expended as result of intermittent muscular contractions throughout the waking day (Hamilton et al 2007). One particular study found that an increase in 1 hour of television watching in which the participants would be seated, there was a 26% increase in the prevalence of metabolic syndrome in women (Dunstan et al 2005). Bed rest studies have also been used to assess the affects of prolonged inactivity in relation to insulin action and glucose

One study found shiftworkers had twice as high a rate of ulcers as day workers did. Others have linked shiftwork with problems like heartburn, loss of appetite, diarrhea and constipation (Aanonsen 57). Few shiftworkers escape their years on rotation without experiencing at least one of those symptoms. It is because that they are not eating at traditional meal times, and eat junk food or other snacks that are quick and convenient (Aanonsen 58). Caffeine, the shiftworker's constant companion, and changing meal times from one day to the next may affect gastric secretions, aggravating digestive problems. Sleep disorders, caused by the disruption of circadian rhythm, are a common long-term health effect experienced by shiftworkers. Fatigue can also make a person more vulnerable to illness, poor job performance and sagging motivation (Tasto 26). Because of difficulties getting to sleep or staying awake, shiftworkers may be more likely to suffer from substance abuse. Some may use alcohol or sleeping pills as a tool to help them relax and get to sleep at the end of the shift. Others may find themselves using tobacco or drugs to keep themselves awake and functioning through the day. All these substances can be addictive, and can lead to other health problems such as heart attack, diabetes and elilepsy (Morgan 75). Many of these health effects, both long term and short term, are interconnected. When some or all of

There are a lot of people who say it’s all about food. But the work environment has changed so much we have to rethink how we’re going to attack this problem (Parker-Pope). Back in the days people were very active. They did many physical works that prevented them from getting fat. However these days, the workloads are very less. Dr. Church also notes that in 1960, one out of two Americans had a job that was physically active. Now it is estimated that only one in five Americans achieves a relatively high level of physical activity at work. (Parker-Pope). People are less into occupations like farming that requires physical strength. Many people are involved in service and desk jobs that have always involved only light activity. They are now moving less than ever. Hence, their physical activity is lost during the working hours and during the remaining hours they are busy relaxing. Different experts have different opinions on obesity. While some experts consider food as the main reason behind obesity, some consider workplace and the eating habit too.

Why did I choose to write about workaholics? The main reason is that the general picture about these people is bad, but there are a lot of them around us and very often we admire them. They are doing exactly what they love – work – and they can never have enough of it. Although they spend most of their time working, surprisingly they are happy. They show so good results in what they do. But the consequences are great. Family life is disrupted, intellectual horizons narrow and the consequences to the workaholic's health are severe: fat, lack of exercise and stress. Why do people become workaholics? When a person becomes workaholic is there a way back? How should people around him act in order to keep both him and themselves

A study from the Netherlands suggests, "that even an extra 40 minutes of couch potato behavior will dramatically increase your risk of getting type 2 diabetes." Scientist gather 2,497 participants who sat for at least nine hours and strapped motion monitors to participants' thighs for eight days and testing the glucose levels in their blood.