# How can you tell if you are a workaholic?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-you-tell-if-you-are-a-workaholic/273906>\
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion\
**Created:** [November 9, 2004, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-you-tell-if-you-are-a-workaholic/273906 "2004-11-09T21:32:29Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Incubus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c68b51/32.png) [@Incubus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Incubus)\
**Post date:** [November 9, 2004, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-you-tell-if-you-are-a-workaholic/273906/1 "2004-11-09T21:32:29Z")

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Lately I have been wondering if I am a workaholic. But it is hard to tell, because I’m not quite sure what criteria most people use to define ‘workaholic’. If it were just hours worked per week, I certainly wouldn’t be a workaholic, because I don’t even have enough time to work full-time with school being a factor. But just the same, if given a choice between spending free time or working extra, I’ll probably opt to working extra. If I find I have an unexpected day off, I call my other employers and see if I can work one of my other jobs that day. And even though I already have four part-time jobs, I am constantly on the lookout for something that pays more, with longer hours (well, either/or).

I’ll admit that I do not spend all day doing one thing. But rather, I spend all day doing a dozen-odd things. Whether people would consider me a workaholic or not, I _feel_ busy. When I have a day off (unless I have to take it off for something important like a doctors appointment or something), I feel like I am losing money by not working that day.

One of my managers pointed out that I should be careful not to work so much that I get burned out. I listened to his advice, but felt conflicted with the desire to advance quickly and gain as much experience as I can in a set timespan. As hectic as it might be sometimes, I actually enjoy being so busy.

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**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\
**Post date:** [November 9, 2004, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-you-tell-if-you-are-a-workaholic/273906/2 "2004-11-09T21:52:50Z")

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This may not be the clinical definition (if such a thing exists), but I would say if you work to avoid other situations or find your self-esteem entirely tied to work, that’s at least the edge.

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**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\
**Post date:** [November 9, 2004, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-you-tell-if-you-are-a-workaholic/273906/3 "2004-11-09T22:20:39Z")

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If you find yourself at work at 2AM upacking an item so that you can get a jump on what you have to do tomorrow when you get to work at 9, I would say that you just might be a workaholic. ::: Hangs head::: Yes that was me.