Workaholic, are you?

There is something special about being a workaholic, I believed in my childhood. People somehow respected the person than an average person who would slog equally but was there to have fun, spend time with his or her family and pursue interests. So, I wanted to earn that respect of a workaholic, not knowing what this life holds for me.

When I joined my first workplace, I was the junior most member and needed to work as much as I could to prove my worth in the company. I had no idea about a deadline because it was completely different from the ones that were given in the University. Daily assignments and meeting deadlines were becoming a pain in my life. But it could never overshadow the power of getting appreciated for the good work that I did. I started overlooking the work pressure, stress and body ache completely. I spent more time at work than at home. This followed at every workplace where I have worked so far. I will reach early and leave late. There will be never ending work on my list even if it is not a priority. And this leads me to become a certified workaholic, going by the definition of the same.

By the time I realised what being workaholic holds for you, it got a little late. I was already having health problems, would stay tired and exhausted mentally and physically, the pretty face of mine started having puffed eyes and dark circles and a permanent fixture of sadness on my face. Was I working too much than I am expected to, or rather needed to? I needed to find out, seriously.

Workaholism usually refers to extreme behaviours such as working late at night in the office when everyone has left so that one can get peace and sort out the tasks for the next day, typically leading a life that is out of balance. The problem seems to get worse if not addressed at the right time. To make you workaholic, you have your smartphone with a messaging and mailing facility, a tablet to do all your work even when you are travelling or simply sitting back, and an annoying calendar to remind you of your meetings and updating you with your schedule. I do use a smartphone and it has a calendar as well. Just that I don’t own a tablet and work on the go.

May be I haven’t become a workaholic to the extreme that one of my fellow office colleague has become. He reports to work as early as 6 am on the rare days and by 7:30-8:00 am on regular days. I also come early and we usually bump into each other. On this particular day, while we were discussing something completely irrelevant, I find him taking out something from his bag pack. I was completely taken aback when I found him brushing his teeth at his desk using his tooth brush and paste from the travel kit which is kept in his bag. Upon asking him, he replied that he forgot or didn’t have time in the morning. It’s normal, he said.

No it wasn’t, and it should never be. Is working day in and out the only thing in our lives left to be done? What happens to the parents, the friends, the fun and frolic, the hobbies and personal satisfaction from things that we love doing? Job satisfaction should be there but we must also realise that work must not become an addiction. Your health will deteriorate and so will your mind. Negative thinking, frustrated and unsatisfied outlook toward everything that we do, and most important, incompleteness.

I wanted to become workaholic to earn respect. That’s a dream I lived. Now, it’s the other way round. I want to earn respect by leading a balanced life. With going for a morning walk with a free mind, walking into office at the designated time and leaving when I am done with my work, paint, knit, cook, watch a movie, read and write at my convenience. And sleep peacefully with the alarm not set at midnight for me to wake up at the wee hours to finish off my work.

So the next time when someone asks me, do you work hard or do you hardly work, I will answer, I do both!