Are You A Workaholic?

March 30, 2007
This 20-question checklist, produced by Workaholics Anonymous, seems to stack the deck a wee bit. Just about anybody with any kind of management role is going to find themselves thinking about work outside of the "Nine-to-Five" timeframe. I think the ...

This 20-question checklist, produced by Workaholics Anonymous, seems to stack the deck a wee bit. Just about anybody with any kind of management role is going to find themselves thinking about work outside of the "Nine-to-Five" timeframe. I think the grading scale is definitely off the curve a mere three "yeses" seems like it'd apply to virtually anybody who has a job. If you say "yes" to more than half of them, though, then it's probably likely that you learn how to dial it back a little bit.

I answered "yes" to more than three questions, but I've never been accused of being a workaholic, although I may have displayed some of the classic symptoms when I was writing my book, Supply Chain Management Best Practices (which by the way is still available at a very healthy discount from Amazon). Having said that, though, I take much more pride in watching my kids on stage than I do when I'm on stage myself. And I have to admit that I'd probably rather talk about baseball than about manufacturing if I'm in a social setting. So maybe there's hope for me yet.

Anyways, if you think you're a workaholic, click the Workaholics Anonymous link for advice on where to go for help. (Thanks to business consultant Barton Goldsmith, who passed along the link.)

1. Do you get more excited about your work than about family or anything else?
2. Are there times when you can charge through your work and other times when you can't?
3. Do you take work with you to bed? On weekends? On vacation?
4. Is work the activity you like to do best and talk about most?
5. Do you work more than 40 hours a week?
6. Do you turn your hobbies into money-making ventures?
7. Do you take complete responsibility for the outcome of your work efforts?
8. Have your family or friends given up expecting you on time?
9. Do you take on extra work because you are concerned that it won't otherwise get done?
10. Do you underestimate how long a project will take and then rush to complete it?
11. Do you believe that it is okay to work long hours if you love what you are doing?
12. Do you get impatient with people who have other priorities besides work?
13. Are you afraid that if you don't work hard you will lose your job or be a failure?
14. Is the future a constant worry for you even when things are going very well?
15. Do you do things energetically and competitively including play?
16. Do you get irritated when people ask you to stop doing your work in order to do something else?
17. Have your long hours hurt your family or other relationships?
18. Do you think about your work while driving, falling asleep or when others are talking?
19. Do you work or read during meals?
20. Do you believe that more money will solve the other problems in your life?

If you answer "yes" to three or more of these questions you may be a workaholic.

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