Kevin Jones, 20, a student
at Bucks, goes through
many ups and downs
throughout the week as he
juggles working two jobs
and going to school fulltime.
Jones, who is a secondary
education major, studies
and attends classes four
days a week.
He also works at Hot
Topic and Carrabba’s
Italian Grill, which amounts
to a 40-hour work week.
Jones also has to find time
for studying and his social
life.
Jones works very hard on
his academics, but the only
time he can study is late at
night. He attends school
from 8-2 then goes straight
to work from 3-10.
“It is a very hectic schedule
I deal with but, I really
hope all this hard work
pays off one day,” said
Jones optimistically.
He added, “I really enjoy
doing it, and I feel as [if] I
am doing something productive.
Yes, sometimes it
is too much, but most of the
time I say give me more.”
With his strong will and
determination to be successful
in life Jones does all he
can to get a leg up in the
world.
But the work overload can
create also stress.
“I try to finish my work as
fast as possible right before
it’s due,” Jones says. “I do
get anxiety when I know I
am struggling to get my
work done, knowing that it
is due.”
It seems that Jones is not
alone; today most college
students in America are
working while going to
school – 78 percent by one
estimate.
This is not necessarily a
bad thing; it can help build
a sense of independence
and responsibility.
Jones probably isn’t a
workaholic, just a hard
worker. But when working
hard becomes an addiction,
it’s workaholism, a very real
affliction with many negative
consequences.
The dictionary defines
workaholic as “a person
who works compulsively at
the expense of other pursuits.”
According to medicinenet.
com, research indicates
four distinct workaholic
types:
The bulimic workaholic
feels the job must be done
perfectly or not at all.
Bulimic workaholics often
can’t get started on projects,
and then scramble to complete
them by the deadline.
They work frantically on a
project to the point of
exhaustion, and end up
with sloppy results.
The relentless workaholic
is an adrenaline junkie who
often takes on more work
than can possibly be done.
They tend to work too fast,
or are too busy for careful,
t h o r o u g h
results.
The attent
ion-def i c i t
workahol i c
often starts
with a fury,
but fails to
finish projects
because
they lose
interest. They
often savor
the “brains
t o r m i n g ”
aspects but
get bored
with the necessary
details
or follow-through.
The savoring workaholic
is slow, methodical, and
overly thorough. They have
trouble letting go of projects
and don’t work well with
others. These are usually
perfectionists, frequently
missing deadlines because
“it’s not perfect.”
Doctors and medical specialists
say that working too
much or overworking can
be very unhealthy.
Symptoms include anxiety,
depression, ulcers, and
attempted suicide.
Workaholic students often
see a decline in the quality
of their school work.
Dr. Edmund Neuhaus,
director of the Behavioral
Health Partial Hospital
Program at McLean
Hospital in Belmont, Mass.
tells WebMD that “if you’re
working to the exclusion of
your family, your marriage,
other relationships, and
your life is out of balance, or
your physical health is out
of balance – when work
takes an exclusive priority
to everything else, that’s the
more extreme end of the
spectrum where it becomes
a problem,”
According to an official
from Workaholics
Anonymous, many people
suffer from being workaholics.
But there are many things
people can do to help themselves.
At Workaholics
Anonymous, sufferers can
attend meetings and take
part in a 12-step program to
help them on the road to
recovery.
Workaholics Anonymous
has even published a book,
“Workaholics Anonymous
Book of Recovery,” to help
individuals overcome the
addiction.