Are you an obstinate workaholic?

If your work defines all your priorities, actions and thoughts, you belong to a growing breed of employees, commonly referred to as "workaholics". Read on to know more of this bunch of office species.

Modern-day offices are increasingly witnessing employees turning obsessive about their work. With huge workloads already granting little leisure time, these individuals manage to cram their hectic schedules further with even more office tasks. This is becoming a very apprehensive issue as workaholism is damaging both personal and professional lives of employees. It deprives them of mental and physical rest and in the long run, may even lead to depression.

Jayan Narayanan, associate VP and head, corporate marketing and communications, CSS Corp, tells us the various symptoms of workaholism and their general causes, "There is a thin line between working hard and workaholism. The typical symptoms of a workaholic would be a person working really late hours (whether required or not), proactively carrying work home on weekends and when on vacation, finding reasons to take on more work, micro-managing and getting upset when he/she does not see a similar attitude amongst team members and peers. There are many more symptoms to this, but clinically nothing has been proven yet. As HR managers, we believe that workaholics are usually the ones who are trying to divert their attention from some personal situations that they choose not to confront."

Workaholism often leads to an unhealthy home atmosphere as well. This is highly undesirable. Shitanshu Jhunjhunwalla, director, Turtle Limited, elaborates, "Taking work home is not advisable as personal life is as important as one's career and work. Strained relations at home often lead to depression and dissatisfaction in the employee. Giving space and time to one's family and going on vacations are extremely important for keeping the mind fresh and having better concentration at the workplace. Workaholism often creates a chain reaction and disturbance caused by the same in personal life often leads to an employee spending even more hours at the workplace. Since workaholism generally begins to affect the productivity level of the employee, it may have an adverse effect on one's career prospects."

Many argue that workaholism is a direct result of job insecurity and the limited number of opportunities available in the market today. Namit Bajoria, director, Kutchina, counters, "To a certain extent, owing to fierce competition in the workspace and global price rise, the youth today tend to suffer from insecurity of losing their work positions due to failure. But generally, workaholism is a result of the over-ambitious nature of today's restless youth, who are often hell-bent towards achieving professional success in a short span of time. Initially, a hardworking person may win the recognition of his/her office management, but a workaholic is not well-accepted in the office; as, in a modern-day work set-up, a performing individual minus discipline and integrity is a strict no. Work opportunities are still there, but one needs to be consistent and patient in order to usher in a career of substance."

Hence, workaholism can prove fatal for the employee's career growth as well as personal life. It is essential that such a person receive the required counselling, guidance and support from his/her workplace and family so as to get out of this obsession. For a healthy career, work-life balance is of utmost importance.