Slovakia
Workaholics know how to perform excessively. Although they may not be so popular in the team, employers like efficient and hardworking people. Except workaholism is a form of addiction. If your overworked employee is truly valuable to you as an employer, they need your help!
Work above all else. Always in first place. This is how the "disability" called workaholism could be characterized very briefly. Like any other addiction, it distorts the perception of reality. A workaholic always finds a bulletproof argument why he has to work more, longer, even during the weekend or vacation, why work repeatedly takes precedence over family, hobbies, love. And that is the danger of workaholism.
"The risk of disrupting work and personal relationships is very high for a workaholic. However, the imbalance between work and personal life also causes problems at work. Fortunately, more and more employers are realizing that a satisfied and productive employee is the best employee. However, a workaholic does not work efficiently, often procrastinates, and what he needs most, but will never have enough of, is praise." explains Lívia Bachratá, Director of Public Affairs at Edenred.
Where workaholics are born
Workaholism is not really synonymous with good work. An efficient or productive employee knows how much time he actually has for his work tasks and responsibilities and fulfills them in this time. He organizes everything so that he can do it during working hours. While a workaholic works "from out of sight to out of sight" to master a new task or challenge, a person who has set his boundaries well would accomplish the same task or challenge in less time.
The roots of workaholism are different, but they are always related to a person's inability to see himself realistically. A workaholic has a damaged self-esteem and cannot set boundaries well. With high work commitment, he convinces those around him, but especially himself, that he is valuable, valuable, significant.
"He needs new challenges, praise and is never satisfied with himself. If the workaholic does not receive adequate help, he cannot get out of this vicious circle on his own. However, he will be stopped either by depression or burnout, physical or psychological collapse," warns L. Bachratá.
Help for the workaholic
How to help a workaholic? The treachery of this addiction is also in the fact that the workaholic usually does not perceive his problem. That's why he can't even handle it himself. If work is his primary interest, his superior is often a more important person in his life than his partner or parents. And that is why it is the superior who can point out the employee's problem. And suggest several forms of assistance.
"It certainly helps if the employer focuses more on monitoring employee productivity than on the number of hours worked. Mental coaches, psychologists or other professionals who know how to help in the field of mental health and work-life balance will help any company grow by improving the sense of life and productivity of its employees. Such a benefit is becoming more and more popular," continues our expert.
Enlightenment and spreading awareness about the problem of workaholism, workshops for better stress management or personal development programs are also helpful.
"Communication is also extremely important. For example, the superior may be sensitively interested in why the worker worked late into the night or why he worked on the weekend. Maybe they will figure out together that he has more responsibilities than the capacity of one person. Or, on the contrary, they reveal together that the employee enjoys being at work more than outside it, because he feels lonely, has no friends or hobbies. If the cause of the problem is revealed, then it is only a step towards finding a solution." L. Bachratá is convinced.
Beneficial for both parties
In today's world, the work environment is focused on high performance. This is literally a breeding ground for workaholism. But after the rapid growth of a company full of workaholics, there is a high risk that its downfall will follow. Because a workaholic will reach the point of burnout. His physical and mental powers will be restored only minimally.
One of the possibilities is to gradually change all employees - replace exhausted workaholics with new, unexhausted forces. But good employers keep an eye on how their people, especially those in exposed positions, are doing personally and psychologically, because they don't want to lose them.
"Some companies have already implemented employee welfare programs that include various forms of benefits and support for both mental and physical health. They have proven themselves, their employees are less unable to work and at the same time feel valuable and valuable to their employer, which is one of the important factors in preventing burnout and one of the key needs of workaholics." concluded L. Bachratá.
At Edenred, we have extensive experience in setting up a mix of such employee benefits as to benefit both parties – the employer and its employees. We can certainly advise employers who want to deal with the mental health of their employees or their inefficient work addiction.
