Anxiety and Depression Risk Higher Among Workaholics

Workaholics are people who compulsively work harder for longer hours. Some may enjoy it, while many feel compelled to do it.

People who spend more time working may have deeper psychological or emotional issues, potentially increasing their risk for anxiety and depression, said a new study.

The findings showed that workaholics are at greater risk of anxiety, depression and disorders such as attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), - a chronic condition including attention difficulty, hyperactivity and impulsiveness - obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) --excessive thoughts that lead to repetitive behaviors.

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‘Workaholics Beware! You may be more prone to psychiatric disorders such as anxiety and depression.’

"Workaholics scored higher on all the psychiatric symptoms than non-workaholics," said Cecilie Schou Andreassen , researcher and clinical psychologist specialist at the University of Bergen (UiB) in Norway.

Among the study participants, 32.7 percent workaholics met criteria for ADHD in contrast to 12.7 percent non-workaholics. While 25.6 percent workaholics fulfilled the criteria for OCD, only 8.7 percent among non-workaholics were found at risk.

Anxiety was seen in 33.8 per cent workaholics and 11.9 per cent in non-workaholics. 8.9 per cent people met criteria for depression among workaholics and only 2.6 per cent among non-workaholics.

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"Whether this reflects overlapping genetic vulnerabilities, disorders leading to workaholism or, conversely, workaholism causing such disorders, remain uncertain," Andreassen explained

For the study, published in the journal PLOS One, the team examined the associations between workaholism and psychiatric disorders among 16,426 working adults.

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The results clearly highlight the importance of further investigating neurobiological deviations related to workaholic behavior, the researchers concluded.

Source-IANS

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