Workaholic Lifestyle Can Reap Great Rewards

By: Kyle Forbes

Are you a workaholic? Photo Credit: Virtualianet.com

Merriam Webster portrays the meaning of passion as a strong liking or desire for devotion to some activity, object, or concept.

Examples of a devotion for some activity is a passion for sketching and creating new black anime characters and/or manga characters (mangaka) every day.

Another example of having a strong devotion to something is having a passion for practicing self-love. Self-love can manifest in someone such as a workaholic cartoonist who works to create art for their own well-being and happiness.

Work passion is portrayed as a strong interest towards work-related activities that individuals find fun and worthy of their time.

Obsessive passion deals with the determination to continue to pursue a dream that most people think is impossible to attain. It takes an immense amount of willpower and optimism to perfect a skill.

The Journal of Business and Psychology reported that an obsessive passion for work may be the motivation that makes one feel socially accepted or have high self-esteem. This includes individuals that desire acceptance from a large group or organization.

Other motivations could be promotions, job raises, or work-related rewards that would secure their self-worth.

Research also reports that both Chinese and Russian employees have, on average, a more harmonious team and individual drive for work-related projects.  

Research reports from a study done by Khapova and Korotov made a note that success amongst employees in Russia’s workforce comes from the motivation to do work. However, such motivation from Russia’s employees are reported to not come from administrative and ideological barriers.

Russians report practicing professionalism in terms of quality and ability. Research also reports that Russian employees utilize their passion and creativity during the work hours for the best quality of results.

China reports that their work behaviors come from their love and passion for work.

Research shows that as a result of China and Russia’s commonality in passion and work ethic, the two countries can connect more easily. The connection between the two passions could be due to the drive towards “centrality, achievement, and material reward in success.”

Like-minded, passionate employees enjoy chatting with their colleagues about activities outside of work. It’s also not uncommon for passion-driven employees to be allowed to communicate on the phone with family members during their breaks.

As a result, such employees have a significant reduction in tension and anxiety by walking outside during breaks.

The same kind of workers feel positive emotions from their work experience, making them more inclined to focus more easily on their work.  Research reports that the inclination to be passionate about something is similar to a positive strive in work commitment..

On average, passionate employees are reported to feel more in control while making important work decisions than unmotivated employees.

Research reports that passionate employees can continue performing well at work as long as the work remains satisfying. The same employees may very well continue to perform well at work if their work isn’t interrupting their other life activities.

Having a strong passion for work harmonizes with other aspects of an individual’s life by balancing one’s overall need for happiness. The harmony between work and one’s personal life has been shown to increase career satisfaction.

Harmonious and obsessive work passion shows a strong indication that one feels an overall positive opinion towards their job’s work environment. Research portrays harmonious passionate people to feel intrinsically motivated.

All in all, this goes to show that the hard work and sleepless nights a workaholic puts into their careers is worth the trouble. It improves mental and physical health, creating an overall more positive life than someone who only works at an average pace.

But as always, the key to life is balance. Always remember to balance work and personal life.

Sources:

1. Work Passion Through the Lens of Culture
2. okfarmbureau.org