One-in-every 10 Employees is Addicted to His Work: Study

Study says at least one-in-every 10 employees is workaholic.

Research at the University of Bergen conducted a survey to assess the level of dedication the Norwegians have towards their work and profession. Nearly 2,160 participants aged between 18 and 70 were asked about, their personal life, daily working hours, how often they worked overtime and mental status if there was no work. 

The analysis revealed almost 8.3 percent of the respondents were excessively inclined towards doing too much work. The participants' level of addiction towards work were evaluated based on how their work-life decisions influenced their health, personal relations, state of mind and time spent in doing recreational activities.

It was observed that 46.6 percent of the people met at least of the criteria that measured overall work addiction. Around 27.7 and 14.8 percent said they met two and three of the set criteria for work addiction, respectively.

 "Workaholism may have contradictory psychological, physiological, and social outcomes. As a significant group seemingly is affected, focus on this phenomenon is timely, especially among health professionals and researchers. But employers, politicians, legislators/lawyers, and journalists should also acknowledge the topic as well," write the authors in the study, reports the Red Orbit.

Both men and women were found to have chronic work addiction and confessed to have showered too much of time and attention to their job. This group of people were less likely to engage in a hobby, exercise or a leisurely activity as they put their jobs ahead of everything and reportedly experienced stress and anxiety when they did not work.

 In addition, the experts noted these behaviors were typical among younger participants compared to older subjects and in those who had children. Also, people's level of education, type of employment and marital status had no association with employee's workaholism.

"As workaholism is not a formal diagnosis the development of treatment models and real treatment offers has been lacking. The fact that more than eight percent of the general work population seems to suffer from workaholism underlines the need for proper treatment and other relevant interventions,' adds Cecile Schou Andreassen, study author and researcher at the University of Bergen's Department of Psychosocial Science, reports the Red Orbit.

More information is available online in the journal PLoS ONE.