Workaholics vs. Happy Workers
Posted by Ellie Mirman on Wed, Feb 06, 2008 @ 01:27 AM
Hi, my name is Ellie, and I'm a Workaholic. It's taken me a long time to admit it, and I'm still not sure I completely believe it. Because I think I'm really just someone who loves her job and gets satisfaction out of doing some real awesome work.
Am I realy a workaholic? What makes a workaholic? I work a lot of hours. OK, but does that really make me a workaholic? Wikipedia says that a workaholic is someone who is addicted to work, not necessarily because they enjoy it, but because they feel compelled to do it. Damn, we've got a bit of a catch-22 there in my case... I might actually admit that I feel compelled to do work, but that's because I enjoy it.
I'm not alone in my addiction. My company is full of similarly-minded workaholics. Maybe that's why we get along so well (OK, everyone's also super nice). But really, what can you attribute to someone's personality and what to the environment they're in? Where do you draw the line between a "workaholic" and simply a "happy worker"?
One of my favorite bloggers these days is Alexander Kjerulf, who calls himself The Chief Happiness Officer, and often writes about finding happiness in your job. In a recent op-ed piece he wrote called "Yes, you can be happy at work", he commented on the difference in attitudes towards jobs in America versus Scandinavian countries, saying that the US attitude is "You get paid to do your job, not to like it", while that's not the case in (for example, his home country of) Denmark.
So does my experience disprove Alexander's statement? Or is it an exception to the rule? I, in my infinite wisdom *ahem* make that idealism, would suggest that each person has the potential to be a great, dedicated, satisfied worker (call it workaholic if you will) if only placed in the right environment, an environment that breeds happy workers. As the op-ed piece states what I believe (albeit with some more credibility perhaps), "Studies show that happy employees are more motivated, productive, innovative, and engaged." Sounds to me like happy workers become workaholics because don't we all want to spend more time doing things we enjoy? Too much of a good thing is wonderful, right?