Quiz #1: How Do I Know If I'm A Workaholic?Source: Workaholics Anonymous
1. Do you get more excited about your work than about family or anything else? > Yes
2. Are there times when you can charge through your work and other times when you can't? > Yes
3. Do you take work with you to bed? On weekends? On vacation? > Yes
4. Is work the activity you like to do best and talk about most? > Yes
5. Do you work more than 40 hours a week? > Yes
6. Do you turn your hobbies into money-making ventures? > No
7. Do you take complete responsibility for the outcome of your work efforts? > Yes
8. Have your family or friends given up expecting you on time? > No
9. Do you take on extra work because you are concerned that it won't otherwise get done? > Yes
10. Do you underestimate how long a project will take and then rush to complete it? > No
11. Do you believe that it is okay to work long hours if you love what you are doing? > Yes
12. Do you get impatient with people who have other priorities besides work? > Yes
13. Are you afraid that if you don't work hard you will lose your job or be a failure? > Yes
14. Is the future a constant worry for you even when things are going very well? > Yes
15. Do you do things energetically and competitively including play? > Yes
16. Do you get irritated when people ask you to stop doing your work in order to do something else? > Yes
17. Have your long hours hurt your family or other relationships? > Yes
18. Do you think about your work while driving, falling asleep or when others are talking? > Yes
19. Do you work or read during meals? > Yes
20. Do you believe that more money will solve the other problems in your life? > Yes
Oh-uh, 17 Yes out of 20. Confirmed workaholic.
Quiz #2: Are You A Workaholic?
©1998, 2005, 2008, Harold Taylor Time Consultants Ltd.
1. Do you spend at least part of every weekend doing office work or answering work-related e-mail? > Yes
2. Do you take work with you when you go on a vacation? > Yes
3. Do you call the office within two hours of arriving at a vacation site? > No
4. Do you have closer friends at work than you have away from the office? > Yes
5. At social functions, does most of your conversation revolve around your work? > Yes
6. Do you do things yourself rather than delegate? > Yes
7. Do you resent having to take time off work to attend personal activities? > Yes
8. Do you feel your job comes first even when it conflicts with family events? > Yes
9. Do you take your cellular phone with you when you go on family outings and sporting events? > Yes
10. Are you more anxious to get to work in the morning than you are to get home at night? > Yes
11. Are you competitive and determined to win? > Yes
12. Do you feel uneasy or guilty if there's nothing to do? > Yes
13. Do you always read work-related material when dining alone, in waiting rooms and when traveling? > No
14. Do interruptions at work annoy you? > Yes
15. Do you create pressure situations with self-imposed deadlines? > Yes
16. Do you get upset if things don't work out as expected? > Yes
17. Do you find it harder and harder to take long vacations? > Yes
18. Are you overly critical of yourself when you make a mistake? > Yes
Rates:
15-18: Confirmed workaholic
10-14: Borderline workaholic
5-9: Workaholic tendencies
0-4: Nothing to worry about.
Oh-uh, 16 Yes out of 18. Confirmed workaholic.
Workaholic Types
Source: Workaholism: Hazards and Benefits
Workaholism is a subset of codependency, and the behaviors of workaholics are learned in childhood. Usually workaholics have parents who do not allow their children to have a strong sense of self. In turn, children learn survival methods that have to do with their dependency on the actions and behaviors of others. That is, instead of trying to please themselves first, they are intensely aware of, and try to control the reactions of others.
This results in three distinct workaholic behaviors.
Type 1: Self-sacrificing workaholic
> They put themselves last and will go to any extreme to please and impress a dominant, parent-type person at work.
Type 2: Dominant workaholic
> They don't care if they are liked, but must be seen as competent. They can be aggressive and arrogant. They seek respect. (Oops. That's me!)
Type 3: Withdrawn workaholic
> They prefer to work alone. They work hard and want to be needed and approved of as well, but do not want to be controlled or dominated. They prefer to keep their emotional distance from others.
All three workaholic types fear rejection, criticism, and abandonment and react in different ways when they feel threatened. The one common thread that runs through all three types is the need to control - both themselves and others.
Type 1 (self-sacrificer) and Type 2 (dominant) will often surround themselves with weak or needy people. That way they can rescue the needy person and feel needed (Type 1) or dominate and intimidate the needy person (Type 2). Type 3, the withdrawn person, will have no interest in needy people, and just prefers to be left alone to do their work.
A workaholic may have only one or a combination of several of these behaviors, depending on the situation. Different work environments may actually encourage or take advantage of a workaholic's tendencies to put themselves and their own needs last, and their needs to prove themselves worthwhile by working longer and harder than anyone else.
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