Workaholic? Those who, for instance, free up time to fit in extra work or feel guilty if they don't stay late on a regular basis may be full blown workaholics |
As BlackBerries and global business mean more and more of us work 'out of hours', addiction to work is becoming more common. But until now, being a 'workaholic' has been a matter of opinion - much in the same way as Dylan Thomas quipped, 'An alcoholic is someone you don't like who drinks as much as you do.' Now, Norwegian scientists have designed a 'scale' to separate out keen workers from those who have a behavioural problem that drives them to harm themselves by overwork. The ‘Bergen Work Addiction Scale’ looks at the kind of behaviour that is displayed by all kinds of addicts, from drug users to alcoholics, but related to the workplace. Those who, for instance, free up time to fit in extra work or feel guilty if they don’t stay late on a regular basis may be workaholics. Reporting to the Journal of Psychology, researcher Doctor Cecilie Schou Andreassen of the Univesity of Bergen, said the Scale was the first of its kind in the world. It was tested on 12,000 workers from 25 different kinds of industry, and reflects what she called the ‘seven core elements of addiction.’ These are salience - noticeability - mood, tolerance, withdrawal, conflict, relapse and problems. The Scale was designed jointly by psychologists from Norway’s University of Bergen with colleagues from Nottingham Trent University. The Bergen scientists believe work addiction is getting worse, not better, because the boundaries between home and office are getting blurred. Being in constant touch through mobile phones and laptops and tablet computers, for instance, means it is harder to ‘switch off’ and easier to work from home. Growing globalisation also means it necessary for some companies to be in touch with colleagues in different time zones, so it will happen outside normal working hours. These factors, and others, contribute to more employees who are ‘driven to work excessively and compulsively’ - the definition of an addict. Are you a workaholic? The test that finds out if you have a problem Look at each of the following statements and rank yourself on each one according to the following: 1 = Never; 2 = Rarely; 3 = Sometimes; 4 = Often; 5 = Always. You think of how you can free up more time to work. You spend much more time working than initially intended. You work in order to reduce feelings of guilt, anxiety, helplessness and depression. You have been told by others to cut down on work without listening to them. You become stressed if you are prohibited from working. You deprioritize hobbies, leisure activities, and exercise because of your work. You work so much that it has negatively influenced your health. If you score ‘often (4)’ or ‘a(chǎn)lways (5)’ on four or more of these seven statements, it ‘may suggest you are a workaholic.’ (Read by Nelly Min. Nelly Min is a journalist at the China Daily Website.) (Agencies) |
黑莓手機和跨國貿(mào)易意味著越來越多的人超時工作,工作狂現(xiàn)象變得越來越普遍。 到現(xiàn)今為止,“工作狂”仍是見仁見智的一個話題,狄蘭?托馬斯對酒鬼的定義也是如此,他曾打趣說:“嗜酒者就是喝酒喝得和你一樣多的討厭鬼。” 現(xiàn)在,挪威科學家設(shè)計了一個“尺度表”,將積極的員工和那些有行為問題、工作過度以至傷身的員工區(qū)分開來。 這一“卑爾根工作狂尺度表”觀察了從吸毒者到嗜酒者等各種癮君子的行為表現(xiàn),但是將這些行為和職場聯(lián)系起來。 舉例來說,那些騰出時間加班或是如果不天天超時工作就會感到內(nèi)疚的人可能是工作狂。 研究人員、卑爾根大學的塞西莉亞?休?安德瑞亞森博士說該尺度表在全世界是頭一個。這一研究發(fā)表在《心理學雜志》上。 這個表經(jīng)過25個行業(yè)的1.2萬名員工的測試,反映出安德瑞亞森博士所說的“上癮的七個要素”。 這些要素是:突出性(顯著性)、情緒、忍耐力、脫癮、掙扎、復發(fā)、問題。 該表是挪威卑爾根大學的心理學家和諾丁漢特倫特大學的同事共同設(shè)計的。 卑爾根大學的科學家認為人們的工作成癮癥日益嚴重,因為家庭和辦公室的界限越來越模糊。 例如,經(jīng)常使用手機、筆記本電腦和平板電腦意味著更難“關(guān)機”,也更容易在家工作。 全球化的發(fā)展也意味著某些公司需要和不同時區(qū)的同事聯(lián)系,因此人們也會在非正常工作時間工作。 這些因素和其他因素讓更多的員工“不得不強迫性地工作過度”——這構(gòu)成了工作成癮。 測一測你是不是工作狂 閱讀下面的陳述,并按如下幾類給自己打分:1、從不;2、很少;3、有時;4、經(jīng)常;5、總是。 你思考如何能騰出更多時間來工作。 你工作的時間比你預想的多得多。 你為了減少內(nèi)疚感、焦慮感、無助感和抑郁感而工作。 別人讓你減少工作量,但你置若罔聞。 如果你被禁止工作,你會感到壓力很大。 你讓工作優(yōu)先于你的愛好、休閑活動和健身。 你工作太多,已經(jīng)對你的健康造成負面影響。 如果這7項陳述中,你有4項以上是“經(jīng)常”或 “總是”,那么這“可能意味著你是個工作狂”。 相關(guān)閱讀 (中國日報網(wǎng)英語點津 陳丹妮 編輯:Julie) |
Vocabulary: quip: 說俏皮話,諷刺 salience: 突出性 |