Spanish scientists have confirmed the usefulness of the new scale for measuring workaholism.
Work addiction is a psychosocial problem that has two main characteristics: overworking and compulsive work, explains Mario Del Libano, leader of the Spanish study, quoted by Eurekalert. Workaholism occurs with different intensity in different countries. In Japan, there are approx. 20 percent. workaholics, and in Spain, about 12 percent. working people.
As Del Libano explains, people are workaholics only when they not only work long hours, but also use work to suppress the fear and guilt they experience when they are not working. Disturbing symptoms that may indicate workaholism include: working more than 50 hours a week, fully devoting yourself to work – even at the cost of your personal life, and building self-esteem in relation to your work.
There are also known risk factors that can lead to such a problem. They include financial uncertainty, fear of losing a job, fear of being bossy, but also a lack of emotional ties, the place of which is replaced by commitment to work.
Several scales and questionnaires are used to diagnose and assess workaholism. Spanish researchers confirmed the usefulness of the DUWAS scale, developed by the Dutch. As they emphasize, its great advantage is its brevity (PAP).