You Might Be a Workaholic If...

June 14, 2007 — -- It's a frequently asked question: Do we live to work, or work to live?

A growing number of Americans are finding that they live for work, and some of them are popping up at Workaholics Anonymous meetings nationwide.

Unlike people who simply work very hard, which quite frankly is most of us, workaholics never punch out. They always feel like they are on the clock, 24/7, physically, mentally and emotionally working.

They are more genuinely enthusiastic about work than anything else in their lives, even family and friends. There's nothing that person would rather be doing than working.

And we're not just talking about Fortune 500 executives; nurses and construction workers, among others, attend Workaholics Anonymous meetings to try to kick the habit.

If you're a workaholic, you can't stop thinking about work. Work issues distract you from relationships and those thoughts speed through your mind as you lie in bed at night. A part of you is always longing to get back to work. Nothing — not eating, socializing, sleeping — is as satisfying.

Here's a good way to think of it: An ordinary hard worker will be on the job, thinking about shopping with friends. A workaholic will be out shopping with friends, but will be thinking nonstop about work.

Workaholics are very controlling. They can't delegate and are not usually interested in being team players. They are perfectionists and nothing is ever good enough for them. Workaholics would rather handle everything themselves, which doesn't always produce the necessary results because often we need the input and help of others.

A workaholic also has a troubled personal life. Typically workaholics don't have many friends or hobbies. Their personal relationships are in disarray. They have difficulty with intimacy because work is always on their minds. And of course, there is a ripple effect in the families of workaholics.

Research done by the University of North Carolina found that couples in a workaholic marriage tended to have twice the divorce rate as those who were in nonworkaholic marriages. We know that all marriages take work, but that's not the type of work that a workaholic wants to focus on.