It is easier to become a workaholic especially when the world gives perfect conditions to foster workaholism. The pressure of career advancement, good pay, a promotion, and the availability of emails on all devices can easily turn people into workaholics without them noticing. Workaholic people are often confused with ambitious people, but if you look at the aspects of it, workaholics work for the sake of working and not to excel or to grow career-wise. Nathan Abayo, a Personal Assistant, explains that most people don’t realise that they develop a dependence on their work because it is also another form of addiction. “Addicted people always find it hard to recognise that they are addicted because their minds trick them into believing that being that way is doing favors to the body. In this case, workaholism is like any addiction. A person believes that spending lots of hours at work, extending work days will earn them that promotion, or that growth, but it is creating bad habits that affect their health and life balance,” he says. Abayo continues, “People with work addiction often work compulsively at the expense of other aspects of their lives,” he explains. “They may work long hours even when it is not needed, sacrifice sleep to get work done and be paranoid about their work performance. They may be obsessive about thinking of ways to free up more time for work and become stressed if they are stopped from working.” Eventually they end up not doing their work well, unmotivated and unproductive, says Abayo. Adeline Umuhoza, a business analyst, shares that if you work more than planned it means that you are a workaholic. “Realising that working more than expected is being a workaholic is hard, I once was there and I kept on denying that fact. Until, I realised that when overtime has taken over your life, and you’re not comfortable with that it means there is a big problem there, of course, it is necessary to work overtime sometimes, but it is not a good sign when you start overdoing it and all of a sudden work has become a big part of your life. Understanding that there are hours to end your work and give space to other things in your life is important because it helps you realise that you are slowly reaching the workaholism phase,” she says. Umuhoza adds that in most cases workaholics work a lot to forget about the problems around them or other troubles. “When things are not going well in life it is easier to drown into work as an escape, but it is not healthy because that is when you start prioritizing work more to escape those problems, a workaholic often does that with the hope of seeing the problems disappearing over time,” she explains. Axel Ishimwe, a customer service agent, says that when a person starts having issues with their health or with their relationship is another way to tell that it is workaholism. “When your partner starts accusing you of not spending time with them, or with the family, it means that you have started giving more time to work than your family, also when you constantly feel exhausted or uneasy it is also a sign that you are a workaholic,” he says. How to overcome workaholism Axel Ishimwe, notes that the first step to overcoming workaholism is admitting to the problem. “Not admitting that you have a problem or realising that there is one, is declining any room for change and help, but once you accept that you have a problem and seek change, you will have the momentum to put in the work to make a change,” he says. Ishimwe adds that making sure that you are in the right job can also help you overcome workaholism. “Some jobs are toxic sometimes and we don’t know that, your boss might be the one turning you into a workaholic, checking whether your job is toxic is important because it helps you make a decision whether you want to stay or leave,” he explains. According to Ken Coleman, an American Career Coach and author seeking professional help can help in overcoming workaholism. “If workaholism feels like a bigger problem than you’re able to deal with on your own, I highly recommend seeing a trained counselor or therapist. They can help you talk through why you might be struggling with this and give you the tools you need to get better.”
