Thaindian News

London, April 30 (IANS) Psychologists have devised a new test that would let you know once and for all whether you are addicted to work.

Researchers from the Nottingham Trent University and the University of Bergen, led by Cecilie Schou Andreassen from the Faculty of Psychology at the Bergen, tested 12,000 workers to isolate key elements of workaholism.

Their study also found that work addiction was getting “worse” and blamed the blurring of boundaries between the home and office, making it harder to switch off, the Journal of Psychology reports.

The criteria used by the researchers come in the form of seven questions which participants answered on a sliding scale of 1, to represent never, 2 meaning rarely, 3 meaning sometimes, 4 for often and 5, representing always, according to the Telegraph.

The questions include, “you think of how you can free up more time to work,” “you spend much more time working than initially intended” and “you work in order to reduce feelings of guilt, anxiety, helplessness and depression.”

Other questions are: “You have been told by others to cut down on work without listening to them,” “you become stressed if you are prohibited from working,” “you deprioritise hobbies, leisure activities, and exercise because of your work” and “you work so much that it has negatively influenced your health.”

Those who score a 4 or 5 on four or more of the seven questions may be considered workaholics.