Workaholism: Hazards and Benefits

There is no doubt that well-organised and managed work helps to maintain and promote individual health and well-being. But not enough attention to good organisation and methods could result in work-related stress.

Recent statistics confirm that work-related stress is widespread in the U.K working population and is not confined to particular sectors or high risk jobs or industries. That is why a population-wide approach is necessary to tackle it.

If you believe you are suffering from work-related stress, it is important to take action and review your lifestyle to identify any contributing factors, such as the following:

• eating on the run, or in a disorganised manner
• smoking, or drinking excessively
• rushing, hurrying, being available to everyone
• doing several jobs at once
• missing breaks, taking work home with you
• having no time for exercise and relaxation.
• If your work demands exceed your capacity and capability to cope, it can be a significant cause of mental health symptoms, especially stress. Further knock-on effects can include high levels of sickness absence, staff turnover and other indicators of organisational underperformance - including human error.

Dealing with work-related stress

There are two ways to deal with work-related stress:

1) To treat the 'patient' who experiences the stress via diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation;

2) To assess and repair the failed work system or organisation. This latter action reduces the risk of future failure and the likelihood of future work-related ill-health. It also focuses attention on the reasons for the work-related stress in the first place, i.e. the design and management of the work itself. Of course, intervention at the individual level also has a part to play.

Advice for managers

If staff take time off work because of work-related stress, getting them back to work as quickly as possible is important. A well managed early return to work will reduce the risk of the absence becoming long-term. In general, people find it more difficult to return to work after a long-term absence.

Managers should ensure they keep in regular contact and have frequent progress discussions with returning employees. This will help identify what caused them to take sick leave and the necessary adjustments the firm needs to make. Equally, the employee needs to regularly review their situation with their GP or mental health professional. There may also be factors outside work that contributed to the person's work-related stress. When the employee feels ready to return to work, a 'staged return' - for example, working part-time hours for the first few weeks - can help ease them back into their work.

As stress at work is often linked to specific problems, (e.g. having too much to do in too short a time), it may be worth thinking about practical steps or adjustments that may help the employee when they return.

If the person has found it difficult to cope with particular tasks involved in their job, temporary adaptations and/or changes to the job may provide valuable breathing space by reducing immediate work pressures on return.

Is the person clear about what their job involves and what is expected of them? If not, a review may clarify the aims of the job and the tasks they are expected to complete. Employees returning to work after being away with stress often prefer a period of stability. If changes are unavoidable, the employee needs to be fully involved and consulted.

Is work-related stress out of control? How did we get to this stage?

From the 1970s onwards fashionable trends have pushed us towards the headache that is dual-income workaholic consumerism. From post-war rationing and marginal deprivation grew an increasingly affluent society - one in which to be without consumer goods was to be poor. Initially it became essential to possess a telephone, washing machine and car, but then the range of 'indispensable' goods grew out of all control. Additionally, in response to longer hours and rising incomes, the cost of housing shot up to swallow much of rising incomes. In effect, consumption became a need, not just a want.

Women in particular soon became 'losers' in this new affluent age, even though at first they didn't realise it. Although initially satisfied, even thrilled, with the balance between work and domesticity, progressively they have been forced to adjust to competitive consumption and status pressures by spending more time at work, and having fewer children. Marital stress and family breakdown increased due to anxious behaviour and troubled prospects for the children.

As women poured into the workforce in order to maintain the family's 'status', they continued to do most of the housework and be responsible for the children. Stress grew along with the dilemmas: women were left with the feeling that there was little alternative to confusing needs with wants, having with being.

As of today, British workers put in the longest hours and take the least amount of holiday in Europe, with two thirds of us working through our lunch breaks.

Stress levels in the U.K are soaring. Are we working hard because we want to, or have to? Some experts believe work has become such an important part of our identity that we only feel fulfilled if we push ourselves to achieve our career goals, even if this means neglecting our personal lives. Others believe that we are slaves to an increasingly work-focused, 24-hour society. Do we still work to define who we are, or does the increasing flexibility in our working lives signal a shift towards finding work that fits in with our lives and values, rather than the other way around. Perhaps workaholism is a problem we need to address as a society, by finding work that is more streamlined to our lives, not longer. Or is it a more personal issue: the need to identify purpose and priorities in our own lives?

One thing's for sure: unless we do something about our work/life balance, mental health issues will become an increasing burden on society as a whole.

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