{"id":7870,"date":"2015-08-31T10:52:12","date_gmt":"2015-08-31T14:52:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.newprocontainers.com\/blog\/?p=7870"},"modified":"2015-08-31T16:51:19","modified_gmt":"2015-08-31T20:51:19","slug":"how-being-a-workaholic-can-negatively-impact-your-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/oldm2.newprocontainers.com\/blog\/how-being-a-workaholic-can-negatively-impact-your-life\/","title":{"rendered":"How Being a Workaholic Can Negatively Impact Your Life"},"content":{"rendered":"

People like us who work in the serene world of plants, aren\u2019t supposed to suffer from severe hospitalizing ailments that can be triggered by stress.<\/p>\n

Yet, I\u2019m writing this stretched out in a pea green, vinyl recliner, gazing out my hospital room window.\u00a0 What I\u2019m going to share with you is something I\u2019ve personally experienced.\u00a0 Perhaps it may save someone else from toting a suction pump on wheels and triple IV pole across a linoleum floor every time they needed to use the bathroom.<\/p>\n

I was\u00a0going to work day after day with fevers of 103 and above and I didn\u2019t stop until my doctor\u2019s office called my cell phone and ordered me to admit myself to the nearest ER.\u00a0 Even then, I contemplated finishing at least that account.\u00a0 By the time I arrived, most of my veins had collapsed from dehydration and my temperature of 105 wouldn’t come down until they put me in a tub of ice. Needless to say, I never took time for myself and felt compelled to be perfect in every aspect at business as well as at home.\u00a0 During the start of my first company my life was much different.\u00a0 Unfortunately, not in a good way.<\/p>\n

Workaholics are usually the last ones to know that they are headed in the same direction as me. \u00a0Especially workaholics that are surrounded by nature. \u00a0After all, how could it\u00a0be bad for anyone to stay long hours tending to accounts considering all the health benefits plants provide?\u00a0 All the time, I would get approached by strangers wanting a job because our business looked so peaceful and easy.\u00a0 Outside appearances can be deceiving and many of us are in denial that our own work habits can and may already be negatively affecting us.<\/p>\n

So how do you know if you should consider a change of work habits?\u00a0Answering the questions below may give you some insight.<\/p>\n

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  1. Do you work more than 40 hours per week regularly?<\/strong> A Harvard study on professionals showed 94% work more than 50 hours week with\u00a050% of professionals working 65 plus hours per week.<\/li>\n
  2. Do you have a habit of working or reading emails during meals?<\/strong> Workaholics tend to consistently eat on the run or skip meals entirely.\u00a0 When your body is in constant stress mode, it secretes cortisone, adrenaline and other bad hormones which can hold on and even increase fat tissue.\u00a0 So if you\u2019re wondering why your diet isn\u2019t working, your work habits could be sabotaging it.<\/li>\n
  3. Do you take work with you on weekends and\/or vacations?<\/strong> In other words, are you pulling out your phone or laptop when you should be \u201cin the moment\u201d enjoying what is going on around you? Do you look down at co-workers who enjoy getting away from work and would never imagine taking their laptop or answer emails when they finally do? According to psychotherapist, professor and author of \u201cChained to Our Desk,\u201d Bryan Robinson says never or rarely disassociating from the job can be extremely detrimental and unproductive while someone who tends to daydream can activate the parasympathetic system which allows the body to keep calm and work peacefully.<\/li>\n
  4. Do you have any hobbies outside of work?<\/strong>\u00a0When you attend social situations, is work the only subject you talk about? \u00a0Has anyone ever told\u00a0you that you should leave work at work?\u00a0There is a proverb stating “all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.”<\/li>\n
  5. Do your work hours negatively affect those close to you?<\/strong> For instance, has your spouse\u00a0given up hope that you will make it home in time for\u00a0dinner?\u00a0 Do your children automatically expect your absenteeism from their activities? The divorce rate for workaholics is 40% higher than the national average.\u00a0 Just in case you don\u2019t know what the\u00a0national average\u00a0is — it’s between 40-50% thus making divorce for a workaholic pretty close to inevitable. Children of workaholics tend to have more anxiety and depression than the average. I don\u2019t have to tell you how devastating it is on children when their parents split.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Did you answer yes\u00a0to half or more of those questions?\u00a0 I personally never missed any of my daughter\u2019s school activities, but because of the excessive work, precious time for myself didn\u2019t exist.\u00a0 Point is, if your life primarily revolves around your job or your company, it doesn\u2019t matter how far you succeed or how much money you make. You can end up destroying other things that are so much more valuable such as relationships and your health.\u00a0 I always love when people ask, \u201cwhen you\u2019re on your death bed, are you going to say\u2026I wish I worked more?\u201d \u00a0And if that answer is yes, you might just be\u00a0seeing that bed very soon.<\/p>\n

    So how do you find that balance between career and personal life?\u00a0 Here are a few ideas to start:<\/p>\n

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    1. Let go of perfectionism.<\/strong> Workaholics connect their identity with their career. If they make a mistake at work, it\u2019s a blow to their self-esteem.\u00a0 Learn to separate the two.<\/li>\n
    2. Create\u00a0healthy boundaries between you and the usage of your electronic devices during family time, social invitations, vacations, and the hours leading up to bedtime.\u00a0<\/strong> Being in the room and being connected to those around you is what\u2019s important.\u00a0 If you find yourself anxious or even irritable during this time, that can be a big red flag of a withdrawal symptom according to Dr. Bryan Robinson. Furthermore, looking at screens before bed has recently been found to be much more worse for our bodies than previously thought. For some compelling reasons to stop this habit, watch\u00a0this video by a clinical professor of psychiatry at UCLA School of Medicine to see the scary effects this can have on your brain and body.