Are you addicted to work?
To find out how many people are true workaholics, researchers from the University of Bergen surveyed thousands of people in Norway using the Bergen Work Addiction Scale, which uses diagnostic criteria for several kinds of addiction.
What is workaholism?
The study found that 7.8% of people could be classed as workaholics.
This meant these people were spending more time at work than intended, working to reduce feelings of guilt and anxiety, and deprioritizing hobbies and exercise because of work.
"In traditional addictions it is typical that there are common underlying and maybe genetic vulnerabilities ... but it has never been looked at in the field of workaholism," said lead researcher and clinical psychologist Dr. Cecilie Schou Andreassen.
The link to ADHD
The researchers analyzed responses from 16,426 working adults between the ages of 16-75 years old, who represented a range of socio-econimc backgrounds.
They also found that 32.7% of workaholics met ADHD criteria (compared to 12.7% of non workaholics), suggesting a significant link between work addiction and ADHD.
Andreassen explained how attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) typically involves patterns of inattentiveness, impulsiveness and/or hyperactivity.
"Maybe because of the impulsive nature of these people, they may be taking on a lot of work without thinking ahead and maybe biting off more work than they can realistically chew -- that's one hypothesis."
As of 2011 about 11% of 4-17-year-olds have been diagnosed with the disorder in the United States, with the numbers rising year on year. But while ADHD has been clearly linked with children and adolescents, the condition in adults has often been overlooked.
"For a long time there hasn't been much knowledge about adult ADHD because it was thought that it was just something children have and they grow it off," said Andreassen, suggesting that some adults who find work overly challenging may have ADHD.
"Some may work to compensate for their shortcomings by working at the weekends and working after co-workers havegone home, or if they like to work when it's more quiet at the office."
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