Comfortable Disappearance

Ok, just fire those that work without stopping, the workaholics. According to Diane Fassel, author of “Working Ourselves to Death” and chief executive of Newmeasures, which conducts employee satisfaction surveys, workaholics are a danger to your company or organization.

In addition to discouraging efficiency, (workaholism) can put enormous stress on co-workers. If the workaholic is a manager, he or she may expect long hours from subordinates, may force them to try to meet impossible standards, then rush in to save the day when the work is deemed substandard, Porter said.

The person may look like a hero, coming in to solve crisis after crisis, when in fact the crises could have been avoided. Sometimes, the workaholic may have unwittingly created the problems to provide the endless thrill of more work.

Workaholics are also a danger to themselves, as the stress induced often exacerbates all ready present stress-related problems and can lead to substance abuse. Bryan Robinson, author of Chained to the Desk, also says that workaholics often accomplish less than their co-workers, “because, as perfectionists, they may become so fixated on inconsequential details that they find it hard to move on to the next task.”

I see more media reports on information like this and I hope that managers begin to read them and realize the damage their doing to their organizations and employees.