Working long hours may earn you some extra cash, but it can also be hazardous to your health. The key is recognizing you are a workaholic.
Dr. Scott Bea is a clinical psychologist at Cleveland Clinic. He says for anyone who may be working long hours, it's good to be aware of why you're doing it.
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"We work long hours oftentimes just because it reduces tension," said Bea. "Workaholics stay late because they want the feelings of things being done. Or maybe that they don't have a lot to look forward to when they go home and work, when it's done excessively, or anything that is overdone is done so because it reduces tension."
A recent Kansas State University study found workaholics may also tend to focus more on wealth than their health. KSU researchers found people who worked more than 50 hours per week more likely to skip meals and be depressed.
"If you're working too much then you're not exercising as much. If you're overworking you're maybe not paying attention to nutrition, you might not be nurturing relationships," said Bea.
The psychologist also says you may be a workaholic if you want to stay until a task is done, rather than go home at a particular time and leaving a little work for the next day.
"There's a nice expression that I like. "We die with our inboxes full." And so, in order to have some balance, it's good for those folks to recognize that they are spending too much time at work and start going home at a specific hour," he said.
Bea says if you keep working until you feel like everything is done, another email hits your inbox, and you're off trying to complete another task.