As much as hustle culture glorifies overworking, addiction to work is a serious issue that can significantly impact people’s health and well-being. Now, a new study shows that the mood of workaholics—people who suffer from work addiction—is on average worse than that of other people even when they are engaged in work.
People with a work addiction tend to work excessively and compulsively. This obsession negatively affects health, psychological well-being, and relations with family and friends. Previous studies have indicated that workaholics often experience a sense of unwellness along with negative emotions such as anxiety, and guilt when they are unable to work as much as they want to, a press statement published in Eureka Alert! explains.
However, they also experience conflicting emotions such as the feeling of satisfaction on a workday which gradually turns into irritation. The study, published in the Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, aimed to examine this change in mood and assess people’s level of work dependency.
The results showed that, unlike other workers, workaholics, on average, consistently maintain a more negative mood throughout the day. Notably, this is not linked to time or fluctuations in workload. “The negative mood observed in workaholics may indicate elevated daily stress levels and that could be the cause of the higher risk for these individuals to develop burnout and cardiovascular problems,” study author Cristian Balducci said in a statement.
Furthermore, as workaholics often hold positions of responsibility, their negative mood could impact that of colleagues, Balducci adds.
The findings indicate that the common perception that workaholics derive satisfaction from work may not be true. In fact, as observed in other forms of behavioural and substance addiction, the initial euphoria gives way to a negative emotional state that affects the person even while at work, the statement explains.
The study also showed that work addiction and mood are more evident among women, which indicates a greater vulnerability to workaholism. This difference could be linked to prevalent gender expectations that force women to over-invest in work.
To protect employees' health, organisations should not encourage working outside working hours and on weekends, Balducci suggests in the statement. It’s important to foster an environment that discourages dysfunctional investment in work and makes counselling interventions accessible, he adds.
