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To make light of the term "workaholic" is easy. As long as you enjoy your job, you may assume there's nothing wrong with spending the majority of your waking hours in the office. That's the problem, unfortunately.

If you downplay your workaholic tendencies, you run the risk of disregarding some very crucial – and possibly alarming – warning flags. Nursing professionals are particularly vulnerable to the effects of work addiction because of the nature of their work.

It is possible that your work addiction is placing you and others at risk, despite your belief that you are doing something good for your hospital or clinic. It's possible that you, another member of your team, or a patient could be put in danger if you're exhausted or burnt out.

Is there a way to tell if you've developed a work addiction? Look out for a few frequent indicators. A handful of these and ways to avoid work addiction in your sector will be discussed in this article.

Why Do People Get Addicted to Their Job?

Addiction to overwork is a form of obsessive overwork. Those desires can be influenced by a wide range of factors, including:

• Personality
• Workers and national culture are intertwined
• A desire to rise through the ranks at work.
• Genetics

In many cases, people who have a job addiction are also perfectionists. That isn't always a negative thing, but it can be taken to extremes.

For those who aren't familiar with the symptoms of work addiction, some of the more frequent ones include working excessive hours, putting off personal life in favor of work, and having a crippling dread of failing at work. Your profession may also cause you to neglect your personal relationships.

Work addicts may feel anxious when they are not at work and try to seek out ways to free up more of their time for their job in extreme circumstances.

If you can't recall the last time you had a vacation from work – or even thought about work - that should raise some serious red flags.

Work Addiction's Effects

• Burnout
• Judgment is impaired.
• Health problems

You can avoid work addiction by following these steps:

Work addiction can be avoided — or at least slowed down – by following some simple steps.

• First and foremost, put your health first. Find a strategy to maintain a healthy work-life balance so that your job isn't the only thing on your mind at all times. 

• When you're attempting to avoid a work addiction, self-care is a must. 

• If you're having trouble avoiding overworking, take a look at your objectives and expectations. How have you defined success in the past, and how do you need to redefine it in the future? 

• Depending on the root cause, individual or group treatment may be beneficial in treating job addiction. 

Conclusion

If you don't deal with your work addiction today, it will have a negative impact on your health and job in the long run.