Are you a workaholic Zombie?

Work-life interface is defined as the intersection of work and personal life for an athletic trainer. What happens to this relationship when an AT is a workaholic?

The work-life interface is bidirectional and can be adverse (work-life conflict) or advantageous (work-life enrichment). Work-life or work-family conflict are interrole conflicts in which some work and life or family responsibilities are incompatible, which can affect work and family domains.

Work addiction has been defined as the overindulgence and preoccupation with work, often to the detriment or exclusion of an individual's health, intimate relationships, and involvement with child rearing.

At the individual level, these outcomes may include implications on stress, health, job satisfaction, life satisfaction, turnover, and performance.

Characterized as a behavioral addiction it can feature interpersonal conflict and compulsive tendencies. Some investigators focused on an obsessive-compulsive trait-based approach, whereas others moved toward a multifaceted perspective that included quantification of the behavior (time spent working), motives (work enjoyment), and even personality traits.

Workaholics tend to be perfectionists who gain self-worth from their jobs. It is important to recognize that working a large number of hours does not mean that an individual is addicted to work and, therefore, we cannot make a blanket assumption that ATs are workaholics simply because they report working a high number of hours each week.

Work addiction can stem from external factors including the organizational culture, a strong desire for career advancement, or financial problems.

The 3 features of work addiction are:

1. Spending a great deal of time engaged in work activities when given the opportunity to do so

2. A reluctance to disengage from work, creating a tendency to think about work even when not at work

3. Working beyond the expectations for meeting economic or organizational requirements

It is likely that workaholics differ from others regarding the quantity and quality of personal relationships because they tend to spend excessive amounts of time on their work at the expense of other activities. Additionally, workaholics may differ in how they perceive their work and personal lives interfering with each other.

ATs with higher scores in work-addiction risk categories had higher levels of burnout, which is a precipitating factor in professional attrition.

It may be beneficial to avoid praising ATs for displaying work-addiction tendencies (showing up early, staying late, etc) without including conversations about appropriate compensation.

Eason CM, et al. Work-Addiction Risk in Athletic Trainers and Its Relationship to Work-Family Conflict and Burnout. Journal of Athletic Training. 2022. 1;57(3):225-233. doi: 10.4085/JAT0348-20

Shelby Daly 10/30/24