When Deborah Tyson launched her initial venture at 24 years old, the excitement of owning her own design firm caused her to adopt detrimental work practices.
Ms Tyson, who is now 60 years old, mentioned that she would work extended hours, often getting only two to four hours of rest, to maintain the rapid expansion of her enterprise.
" It expanded rapidly, and in your own business, there’s always an endless list of tasks," Ms Tyson mentioned.
I was completely hooked on my job, and since I didn’t have kids at that time, there wasn’t anything holding me back from working over the weekends.
The CEO of Sydney-based personal development company Blisspot, Ms Tyson, stated that she recognized the overwhelming nature of her situation when she fell ill and had to remain in bed for three weeks.
She mentioned, 'It didn’t appear to be much time overall, yet back then it felt quite lengthy to me, so I needed to remain in bed.'
It was a huge reality check for me, and I recognised that the business continued and thrived perfectly well without my presence.
The initial findings from an international study on work addiction reveal that Ms. Tyson’s experiences are typical for many Australian women.
A global study involving over 34,000 participants carried out by researchers from Poland revealed that this “pervasive issue” impacts women at a higher rate than men.
The study revealed that approximately 24 percent of over 1,300 research participants in Australia admitted to being addicted to their work.
The initial findings – which haven’t undergone peer review yet – revealed that Australia ranked second in terms of workplace depression, with 11% prevalence.
According to The Journal of Psychosomatic Research, individuals suffering from work-related depression might encounter symptoms such as weariness, disrupted sleep patterns, low energy levels, a downcast disposition, alterations in eating habits, sensations of inadequacy, and difficulties with mental processing due to their employment.
'There's only a limited amount of cognitive and emotional energy available to you.'
The research conducted by Australian leader Racheal Potter from the University of South Australia highlighted that work culture significantly contributes to work addiction.
Doctor Potter mentioned that managers, individuals holding high-pressure positions, and family members who are consumed by their jobs have an elevated chance of developing a work addiction.
"Regarding our sample, we were among the top cultures that exhibited signs of work addiction," according to Dr. Potter.
If your colleagues... and if your supervisor was encouraging you to work late nights, these actions would all perpetuate such behavior.
If you receive praise for putting in more hours...that will influence your actions to continue moving in those same directions.
Doctor Potter stated that work addiction involves an uncontrollable urge to continuously work or stay engaged with work for extended durations.
Those with a work addiction experienced guilt, helplessness, or panic when unable to engage in their job duties, she explained.
She mentioned that these symptoms might result in lower quality of sleep, deterioration in both physical and mental well-being, decreased job satisfaction, and disengagement from social connections with friends and family.
"As your cognitive and emotional reserves are limited, you cannot continually exhaust them. It’s important to allow time for recovery," she explained.
In order to manage our current work requirements, we must regain those resources.
In August, laws pertaining to the right to disconnect were implemented in Australia. This implies that employees have the option to decline monitoring, reading, or replying to communications initiated by their employer.
Unless considered "reasonable," an employee is not obligated to reply to communications outside of their working hours.
According to the legislation, an employer may face fines of up to $18,000 if they continuously reach out to employees outside working hours after those workers voice their concerns.
An expert suggests that Australian culture might promote workaholism.
Darja Kragt, a work psychology lecturer at the University of Western Australia, stated that the research's Australian sample size did not accurately reflect the nation's demographic makeup.
However, Dr Kragt mentioned that the initial findings were largely aligned with what specialists knew about work addiction.
“It’s validating the expected adverse effects [of work addiction] on job satisfaction,” Dr Kragt stated.
She indicated that the occurrence of work addiction in Australia might be connected to the nation's individualistic culture, which emphasizes personal accomplishment.
Dr Kragt remarked, "If Australia scores highly for work addiction, might this be due to influences from our national culture pushing or encouraging such behavior?"
Each of us aims to improve, which pushes us to put in more hours and become increasingly preoccupied with our tasks, ultimately leading some into workaholism.
The Australia Institute’s Go Home On Time Day 2023 report revealed that the typical Australian employee worked an extra 281 hours of unpaid overtime annually, amounting to approximately $11,055 in missed earnings.
Dr Kragt mentioned that individuals hooked on work typically connected deeply with their profession, which shaped who they believed themselves to be.
"When we consider work addiction from an identity perspective, it essentially involves individuals who strongly align themselves with their profession… making it the predominant aspect of their self-identity," she explained.
"Their whole sense of self is basically tied onto this occupational identity.
The significance of this specific area within their overall identity makes it quite understandable that they would invest substantial time and considerable effort into excelling in that professional field.
Pursuing new interests might aid in overcoming an obsession with work.
Tackling work addiction isn’t always simple, and specialists advise that it requires thorough planning to make sure you won’t fall back into being consumed by your job once more.
According to Dr Kragt, recognizing the issue is the initial step towards conquering work addiction.
She mentioned that a positive indication is when others begin to notice your availability.
She mentioned that the following step involved determining which limits to establish, for instance, refraining from checking work-related emails beyond office hours.
Dr Kragt stated that individuals who overwork should think about what they would do with their freed-up time to avoid falling back on "unhealthy coping strategies."
"For instance, in addiction studies, we've found that individuals hooked on one substance often find themselves becoming dependent on another as well," she explained.
What are some activities you plan to take up instead of working? Since having so much extra time might be overwhelming.
Dr Kragt offered some ideas for how individuals might occupy their time during those periods:
- Take up a fresh pastime
- Do craft
- Try a sport
- Engage in social activities
- Participate in volunteering
"Any of these options could serve as alternatives to being consumed by work, however individuals must approach this carefully and plan meticulously for their new pursuits since breaking free from that routine can prove quite challenging," she stated.
