Are you addicted to work?
Find out. Take the test

Articles in earlier issues looked at physician stress that's self-generated. "How a 'control freak' ruined a group practice" (NRM Feb 15, 2004, Vol 1, No 3) examined the downside of needing to know too much. "Doctors who work themselves into a crisis" (NRM Jan 30, 2004, Vol 1, No 2) considered the plight of the physician-workaholic perceived by patients, staff and colleagues alike as a model of the perfect practitioner — until the crash. The following quiz is designed to give you some idea of where you are on the workaholic scale.

Use the number that best describes you:

1-never true;
2-sometimes true;
3-often true;
4-always true

Total your score, then look at the scale below.

1. I prefer to do things myself rather than ask for help.
2. I get impatient when I have to wait for someone else or when something takes too long.
3. I seem to be in a hurry and racing against the clock.
4. I get irritated when I'm interrupted while I'm in the middle of something.
5. I stay busy and keep many irons in the fire.
6. I find myself doing two or three things at once, such as eating and writing a memo while talking on the telephone.
7. I overcommit myself by biting off more than I can chew.
8. I feel guilty when I'm not working on something.
9. It's important that I see the concrete results of what I do.
10. I'm more interested in the final results of my work than in the process.
11. Things never seem to move fast enough or get done fast enough for me.
12. I lose my temper when things don't go my way or work out to suit me.
13. I ask the same question, without realizing it, after I've already been given the answer.
14. I spend a lot of time planning and thinking about future events while tuning out the here and now.
15. I find myself continuing to work after my co-workers have finished.
16. I get angry when people don't meet my standards of perfection.
17. I get upset when I'm in situations where I cannot be in control.
18. I tend to put myself under pressure with self-imposed deadlines.
19. It's hard for me to relax when I'm not working.
20. I spend more time working than on socializing, hobbies, or leisure activities.
21. I dive into projects to get a headstart before all the phases have been finalized.
22. I get upset with myself for making even the smallest mistake.
23. I put more thought, time and energy into my work than I do into relationships with other people.
24. I forget, ignore or minimize celebrations such as birthdays, reunions, anniversaries or holidays.
25. I make important decisions before I have all the facts and have thought them through.

Scoring:

25-56 You are not work addicted.

57-66 You are mildly work addicted.

67-100 You are highly work addicted.

Source: Bryan E. Robinson, Chained to the Desk: A Guidebook for Workaholics, Their Partners and Children, and the Clinicians Who Treat Them (New York University Press, 1998), pp. 52-4. Used by permission.