The Impacts of Workaholism

There is a woman I know by the name Arla Finney. She has a full time job, she is a full time mother, and a part time student. Out of seven days a week, she hardly has any time for relaxation, not even on the weekends. She raises four young women to the best of her abilities as well as working her tail off to make sure they have entirely everything they essentially need. Often times she feels that she has to work over her regular time just to make ends meet when they have already been met. As far as free time goes, I’m not sure she even knows what that is. The only free time allotted to her is at night when she lays her head on her pillow. Yes, the woman I speak of is my mother. Another overdosed with work American. Many days I can see it in her eyes how exhausted and stressed out she is. Lucky for her she has a daughter like me and I try to help out in every single way that I can. But not everyone is that fortunate. It may not be a widespread subject in the news, but an excessive percentage of people won’t acknowledge that they are overworked Americans. Their stress levels are intensifying, their families are dwindling away from each other, and for some even their well-being is weakening. Some people are working so much and scarcely have anything to show for it. While people need a job to make a living, too many Americans are working entirely too much.

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

It is understood that manual workers endure more work related injuries than non-manual workers. Recent studies to support this claim come from Clapp et al (2005) who indicate that a probable 12 of cancer deaths are workplace related, also, Meldrumm (2005) found that working conditions cause up to 20 of lung cancer deaths (Holborn, Burrage and Langley, 2009).

Research strongly suggests that workaholism may cause serious threats to the worker’s health and can even result in death

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.

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.

Americans work more than anyone in the industrialized world. More than the English, more than the French, way more than the Germans or Norwegians. Even, recently, more than the Japanese. And Americans take less vacation, work longer days, and retire later, too. But for many of us, more work leads to more stress and a lower quality of life. Without time to unwind, take care of your home, spend time with loved ones, enjoy our hobbies, connect with friends, and generally live a more balanced life. Stress is the #1 cause of health problems – mentally and physically. And there are few things that stress us out on a consistent basis like work does, especially when it takes away from all of the other things that life has to offer.

Workaholism is definitely a force in society that seems to be okay. Many people are okay with living by the idea that you should work until you die. This is so unhealthy because you should work to support an ideal lifestyle, but you can't be controlled by it. When you're on your deathbed, you don't want to be surrounded by all the cases you won or all the money you earned. You'll want to be surrounded by all the people who love you and care about you. As you work to support your life, don't allow it to take over and replace your life.

Fatigue-related problems can lead to reduced job performance. Fatigue affects the ability to think clearly. Weinstein notes that, evidence is growing that long worked hours and shift work are linked to errors in the delivery of patient care, as a result, people who are fatigued are unable to contain their own level of problems. They are then unaware that they are not functioning as well or as safely as they would be if they were not fatigued, which then makes their work poor or unfinished (Weinstein 213). Poor or unfinished work can become a huge problem within a hospital.

A good deal of time is spent on work. You only get one life. It doesn't make sense to waste it doing something you don't like. Or something you don't care about.

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

Studies from different parts of the world made by different health organizations have showed that long working hours and pressured work lead to stress which affects the employees mentally and physically and leads indirectly to low productivity levels. Not only stress, but it can cause a lot more of health issues like extreme fatigue including sleepiness, poor concentration, and increased susceptibility to illness. These symptoms can a have a noticed effect on the general productivity of an organization.

"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.