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Ć Are you suffering from more illness? (insomnia, flu bugs, colds, backaches, stomach problems) Ć Have you accumulated excessive vacation time? Ć Do you thrive on making decisions? Ć Do you take your problems home with you and dwell on them at the expense of spending time with your family? Ć Are you aware of having lost some of the common ground you once shared with your spouse? Are you fighting more? (p. 9)
When the answer is yes to a majority of these questions, there is a very strong chance that a work addiction is present. The addiction can manifest itself in many ways. Many psychologists believe that a person’s “relentless pursuit of on-the-job perfection actually results in diminished productivity” (Deacon, 1991). These experts say that workaholics begin to lose control over their work and their lives. They experience mood swings involving rage and alienation from loved ones. These mood changes, which may also include sleeplessness, anxiety, and irritability, are usually attributed to a person being overworked at the onset. But later, and through understanding, a person will recognize that these symptoms are all part of the work addiction. Furthermore, workaholics suffer through the highs and lows of their addiction. Usually they are able to draw a high from their work, but eventually, similar to alcohol and other drugs, they need more and more to feel satisfied. Before long, they can’t live without the high and there is loss of control. Work is used to avoid responsibilities and real feelings. So, what begins as the need for perfectionism and approval from others, eventually becomes a compulsion and a pursuit of self-glorification. Eventually, chronic fatigue, guilt, and fear of inadequacy become overwhelming components in a workaholic’s life. Eventually high absenteeism, withdrawal, low productivity, and on the job accidents replace what was once considered by many as simply a strong work ethic or sincere dedication (Robinson, 2000). |
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When workaholics lose control over their sense of well being, schools need to recognize the risk factors for potential problems in the classroom. Realistic limits must be established, and work must not be used to feed overactive egos. Schools need to be aware of teachers, coaches, and administrators who over commit themselves, rarely discuss a personal life outside of work, and begin to neglect physical and emotional needs. These may be the first signs that there is a problem on the horizon. If these employees cannot pace themselves or they insist upon doing everything without help, someone must be prepared to step in to help. It is important that the superintendent send a clear performance message. A performance standard must be based upon the quality of work, not the amount of time spent on a task. If an employee is praised for always staying late, he may think he must do more and more to simply maintain the respect and praise. These mixed messages only compound the issues relating to workaholism. As districts do what they can to tighten budgets and slim down sizes of staffs, school boards must keep a careful eye on what this pressure is doing to their workforce. This can be done in the following ways: assisting employees with setting their schedules, pacing the amount of information given at any one time, scheduling events evenly throughout the school year, holding team meetings to divide work evenly, and offering an employee assistance program. Supervisors must also realize that if 12-hour days and crisis-like reactional behavior is commonplace, the district may be mismanaged. Long hours and career commitment alone do not constitute workaholism. If an educator can manage a healthy attitude and life balance, the situation need not progress into an addiction. Unfortunately, the workaholic thoroughly believes that the work and even the world at times will fall apart without them. Similar to alcoholism, workaholism is a disease of excess, which creates an imbalance in a person’s life and is associated with dysfunction (Bellinger, 1998). Unfortunately, |
