Quality of Life in Employee with Workaholism

Abstract

Workaholism has been a growing issue among the labour force worldwide. However, there is no consensus between scholars about its definition yet. It might be described as “being overly concerned about work, driven by a strong and uncontrollable desire to work, and spending so much energy and effort on work that it impairs private relationships, personal hobbies/activities, and/or health”. Generally, people with specific personality traits may have an increased chance of developing workaholism. In addition, there are other factors, such as sociocultural characteristics, relationships with colleagues and significant others, and organizational culture might also play an important influence on developing workaholism. It causes many physical and psychological health problems, such as high blood pressure, anxiety, depression, and family and lifestyle dissatisfaction, and a reduction in job satisfaction, presenteeism, and motivation. Putting all of this together, it is clear that workaholism has a negative influence on employees’ quality of life and overall well-being. Therefore, this study aimed at examining a variety of approaches to define “workaholism” in related literature, defining its etiology, related factors, outcomes, prevention, and treatment. The PubMed/Medline database was also used for related studies that were published in English. “Workaholism”, “obsessive–compulsive behavior”, and “quality of health” were used as keywords. It is crucial to take action to prevent people from becoming workaholics. Early diagnoses of workaholism, using predictive factors by occupational healthcare professionals in the workplace, would help decrease its impact on workers’ health, and an effective treatment of workaholism should be applied.

The Workaholism Phenomenon in Portugal: Dimensions and Relations with Workplace Spirituality

“…In Portugal, in 2010, it was estimated that 10% of workers would be workaholics (Cristão 2010), a behavior that causes negative emotions (e.g., guilt, anxiety, disappointment) and unpleasant activated emotions (e.g., irritability, hostility). In addition, the compulsion to work hinders the psychological disconnection from work and can influence the individual's ability to recover negatively, which also has an impact on physical health (Ornek and Kolac 2020). In 2019, Forbes pointed out that 66% of millennials suffered from workaholism, a trend that has worsened with the pandemic that has plagued all corners of the world since the end of that year (Stahl 2019).…”