Why workaholism has a positive facet
Advocate Arjun Natarajan works all seven days of the week, not because his boss is from hell but because he loves what he does. He carries his laptop wherever he goes, doesn’t miss a mail and is just a call away. On days he chooses not to work, a weary feeling of inertia pulls his spirits down. A serious workaholic, he has no qualms about being called one.
A new study claims that workaholics’ fixation with work is not as bad as it is commonly perceived to be. Instead, workaholism can lead to positive outcomes. Workaholics thrive on their achievements, which keep their drive suring and fire burning.
“The writing on the wall is ‘love your work’. But when someone actually loves it, he is branded a workaholic. Being a workaholic is considered being imbalanced and being moderate seems to be the key to civilised existence. We all regard ‘being moderate’ to be a virtue and ‘being mediocre’ to be a vice. I see no difference between moderation and mediocrity. So why be moderate and settle down for mediocrity, when one can be extreme and be excellent?” explains Arjun.
Workaholics most often suffer negative consequences like high stress levels, high blood pressure and a physical and mental collapse besides failed relationships, but they swear that the obsession has a plus point professionally as well as holistically.
You thrive, you blossom because you are doing the things you love. For scriptwriter Manisha Lakhe, work is something that she is passionate about. She admits that it is tough to work as a team because workaholics have thought out things much ahead of you and it is very frustrating to try and catch up all the time.
“I agree it is very difficult to work with passion-driven people, but I fail to understand why others don’t have the same desire to accomplish as I do. And yes, I have worked for people who are driven. It is very exhausting for the colleagues. The burn-out rate among subordinates is very high and one tends to take out frustration on subordinates which makes for a volatile work atmosphere,” she adds.
Very few people can understand the work pressure an IT job entails. But there is always enough room wherein one can get time to do what they strongly feel for, says software engineer Soumitra Chatterjee who teaches slum kids.
He says, “I have heard people saying that workaholics ignore their social and personal life. But my personal experience has shown that your working nature actually pushes you to do more and more and help others in whatever possible way. If a balance is maintained between work and home, then irrespective of your workaholic nature, things will run smooth.”
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