Are you a workaholic?
According to a scientifically conducted data survey from Germany, one in ten employees is a workaholic. The researchers found that managers are particularly at risk.
Around one-tenth of the working population in Germany, mainly managers, show signs of workaholism, according to a study conducted by the Hans Böckler Foundation funded study based on representative data from 8,000 employed people in 2017 and 2018 shows. People affected by addictive working would not only work very long, fast and in parallel on different tasks, they would also only be able to take a day off with a guilty conscience. They would also often feel unable to switch off and relax at the end of work.
33 percent work excessively
According to the study, 9.8 percent of employees show signs of workaholism. Another 33 percent work excessively - but not compulsively. In contrast, 54.9 percent of employees work "calmly. And a small group does not work much, but compulsively.
With around ten percent workaholics, Germany achieves a value that is close to the results of similar studies from other countries. In the USA, the figure is also ten percent and in Norway a good eight percent. South Korea is out of the ordinary, with a study showing a figure of almost 40 percent, albeit with a somewhat broader definition of work addiction.
School-leaving qualification irrelevant
According to the researchers, school-leaving qualifications and family status show no correlation with the tendency to work addiction. There is a significant, albeit quantitatively small, difference between women and men, who are affected by 10.8 and nine percent, respectively. There are more significant differences between age groups: Among 15- to 24-year-olds, the rate is 12.6 percent, and among 55- to 64-year-olds, 7.9 percent.
Those who have a long contractual working week have a slightly above-average tendency toward workaholism. There are strong differences with regard to self-employment and management responsibility. Among the self-employed, the workaholic rate is 13.9 percent. This could also be one of the reasons for the high proportion in agricultural professions, as many employees in this sector are self-employed.
Who is most likely to be a workaholic?
Executives are 12.4 percent workaholics, other employed persons only 8.7 percent. The upper level comes to a share of 16.6 percent. In many workplace cultures, managers are likely to have requirements that "incentivize workaholic behavior," the researchers suspect. For example, when they are expected to be the first to arrive and the last to leave.
There is also a strong correlation between the size of the company and co-determination. Addiction to work is less prevalent in large companies than in small ones, the study found. With fewer than ten employees, "12.3 percent fall into the category of addicted workers," and with more than 250 employees, 8.3 percent. This could be due to greater regulation. After all, employees in large companies may get into trouble with the HR department more quickly if their working time account is overflowing.
How to tell if you're a workaholic or at risk of becoming one reveals one articlewhich we published here just over a year ago.
