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You may wonder if you are a workaholic. Worse yet you may work for an organization that actually worships and rewards a lifestyle that lacks balance and is ultimately counterproductive if not destructive. Talk about winning the battle and losing the war.

What are tell tale signs other than constant worry and anxiety (now politely referred to as OCD 'excessive compulsive disorder). First you may have your boss actually threaten you ' so and so is most concerned that you are going to spend too much time with your new wife /child/ dog. In that case you are not imagining the event. It is pretty blatant. It may take the place of obvious praise for other employees who present constant activity 24 hours a day. You may well notice that the employee is not actually productive in any way as well. The difference between effectiveness and efficiency it said is that affiance is how fast you dug the whole whereas effectiveness is should we have dug the whole in the first place and is it a waste of time and effort to do it. Unfortunately many of the 'shining idols' you are presented with have dug the whole repeatedly. All to no avail.

Work addiction is an unrestrained internal demand for constant engagement at work. Of course it comes with the inability to relax. A person who is a serious workaholic is incessantly driven and relentlessly active. For some work addicts, activities other than work give rise to feelings of guilt or emptiness.

For many workaholics, their job is the only area in which they can establish and maintain their identities. Others may use work as a means to counteract underlying feelings of inadequacy and ineffectiveness. In either case the workaholic cannot rest.

How is this scenario different from a person who derives satisfaction as well as a paycheck from a job well done? Working passionately deriving satisfaction does not make anyone a work addict just as someone who has a few social drinks is not necessarily an alcoholic. Am addiction is something you cannot do without. Those addicted to alcohol feel as if they cannot live without that drink. People with work addiction have to work constantly even on weekends and during whenever vacation if they ever permit themselves.

The problem is that with modern technologies such as cell phones , blackberries and even fax machines there is no turnaround time to think and the employee / worker is a slave to these devices being available 24/7 or even worse. Worse yet this model of the always at your service, always available employee is held up my many organizations and management standards as highly desirable, in fact most desirable. Imagine the life such a person must spend. A real good sense of priorities.

Add a workaholic to this mix and this is like adding kerosene to an arsonist.

Where does this all end? It ends with common sense. Your grandmother may have well told you 'You are what you are and you are not what you are not'. You are the same person that walks in the door in the morning as leaves out the same door at the end of the work day. Remember that it really does not matter and make a difference whether you have the approval of your boss or not. It really does not. In the final analysis what your boss or your work really thought of you at all.