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Non-drug Addiction: Addiction to Work

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Handbook of Substance Misuse and Addictions
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Abstract

Work addiction refers to the problem of compulsive overworking, conceptualized as an addictive disorder. It has substantial epidemiological significance due to high prevalence rates (ranging from about 7% to 20% depending on the country); harm to self and others, particularly family, children, co-workers, and recipients of work; and related economic costs. It is strictly associated with stress inside and outside work and high workload, which are well-established risk factors for a host of diseases and disorders constituting major components of the global burden of disease. Inefficient leadership by managers affected with work addiction is another important source of its harm. Treatments for other addictions and anankastia/obsessive-compulsive personality disorder may be adapted for work addiction because of shared similarities. Currently, one of the crucial public health challenges is a low social and institutional recognition of this disorder and a lack of appropriate policies and strategies to counteract it. Universal prevention programs, including those directed at young populations, are indispensable in decreasing the high prevalence of work addiction and reducing its harm in industrialized countries.

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Abbreviations

ADHD:

Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder

APA:

American Psychiatric Association

BD:

Bipolar disorder

BPD:

Borderline personality disorder

BWAS:

Bergen Work Addiction Scale

CVD:

Cardiovascular disease

DSM-5:

Fifth Edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders

ED:

Eating disorder

ICD :

International Classification of Diseases

NPD:

Narcissistic personality disorder

OCD:

Obsessive-compulsive disorder

OCPD:

Obsessive-compulsive personality disorder

RCT:

Randomized clinical trial

SAD:

Social anxiety disorder

WHO:

World Health Organization

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Correspondence to Paweł A. Atroszko .

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Atroszko, P.A. (2022). Non-drug Addiction: Addiction to Work. In: Patel, V.B., Preedy, V.R. (eds) Handbook of Substance Misuse and Addictions. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-92392-1_183

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