Work aversion

"Work-shy" redirects here. For the British band, see Workshy. For the German word meaning "work-shy", see Arbeitsscheu.

Work aversion (or aversion to work) is the state of avoiding or not wanting to work or be employed, or the extreme preference of leisure as opposed to work. It can be attributed to laziness, boredom or burnout;^[1] most underachievers suffer from some work aversion.

Causes

Work aversion usually occurs in persons who have previously been employed, and can have a variety of causes. These include:

Boredom with work:^[1] Holding a boring job early in life can lead to the impression later that all work is boring.^[2]
Depression: A person who is suffering from clinical depression, dysthymia, grief, or other similar disorders may lack the motivation to work.
Social anxiety disorder
Avoidant personality disorder
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder
Autism spectrum disorders
Obsessive-compulsive disorder: Due to neurological dysfunction, the person becomes preoccupied with anxiety-based obsessions, and performs compulsive behaviors in order to cope with their anxiety. They are therefore unable to redirect their attention toward a job or employment search.
Panic disorder: For some, merely finding oneself in a work environment can trigger a panic attack. After such an occurrence, many are reluctant to seek further employment.
Post-traumatic stress disorder: The person has suffered from a traumatic experience at an earlier job. This may be a physical injury suffered on the job, a scary event that occurred while at work (such as a robbery of the place of employment), severe harassment or bullying from fellow employees, or abuse from one's boss or employer.
Abrupt termination: A former employee who was fired or laid off from an earlier job may be fearful of seeking future employment on the basis that such rejection may recur again.
Phobia: Some persons are simply phobic of the workplace.
Negative symptoms of schizophrenia
Side effects of medication, such as weariness and fatigue
Insomnia or various problems with sleep
The effects of chronic health problems, including cancer, diabetes, thyroid disorders, and many others, may interfere with a person's ability to work

Complications

Since the term work aversion only applies to one with the need to earn income, complications will inevitably arise from lacking the money the subject needs from employment. These may include:

Loss of assets, as one lives off his/her savings and liquidates other assets, including mortgaging his/her home.
Debt and credit problems
Self-neglect. This may include malnourishment, since the subject may be unable to afford a sufficient diet, or neglect of one's personal appearance or hygiene in ways that may cost the subject money or may make giving a good impression to a potential employer more difficult.
Neglect of dependents, such as spouse and children, who one is expected to support. Work aversion is responsible for many cases of divorce and broken families.
Neglect of personal belongings, such as one's home, car, or other possessions requiring maintenance, or loss of services that require payment of a monthly bill, such as utilities, phone service, insurance.
Strained relations with family and friends, especially those who are forced to support the unemployed subject, or those who otherwise expect the subject to have money or items of value.
Strained marriage, when financial problems hurt marriage
Reduced socialization, especially in cases where the subject is in need of money to support such interaction.
Homelessness, in most severe cases.
Suicide, due to social pressures to work and in many countries, a legal requirement to register for JSA if unemployed.
Imprisonment or community service and a criminal record, in many countries, it is/was a criminal offense to refuse to work and just to live off unearned income.
Some Christians believe that the souls of idle and workshy people are condemned to burn in Hell in the afterlife.

Treatment

The mental health community does not recognize work aversion as an illness or disease and therefore no medically recognized treatments exist. Those attempting to treat work aversion as an illness may use psychotherapy, counseling, medication, or some more unusual forms of treatment. Depending on the cause, lengths of treatment and success rates may vary.

In the case where the person has not worked for a while due to a workplace injury, work-hardening can be used to build strength. The person works for a brief period of time in the first week, such as two hours per day and increases the amount of work each week until full-time hours are reached.^[3]

Criticism

Work aversion is not a recognized psychological disorder in the DSM-IV.

The idea that work itself has intrinsic value or is an indicator of health or goodness can be traced to the Protestant Reformation.^[4]

References

1 2 Boyes, Roger (2007-09-15). "Forget burnout, boreout is the new office disease". The Times (London).
↑ Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal - Eric Schlosser - Google Books. Books.google.com. Retrieved 2013-07-04.
↑ https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=PEg0AAAAIBAJ&sjid=w2MEAAAAIBAJ&pg=2954,5696465&dq=work-hardening&hl=en
↑ Roger B. Hil. "Historical Context of the Work Ethic". workethic.coe.uga.edu. Retrieved 2015-08-22.

External links

Social Security Disability home page

Employment

Classifications	Casual Contingent Full-time Part-time Self-employed Skilled Independent contractor Temporary Tenure Unskilled Wage labour

Hiring	Application Background check Business networking Contract Cover letter Curriculum Vitæ (CV) Drug testing e-recruitment Employment counsellor Executive search Induction programme Job fair Job fraud Job hunting Job interview Labour brokering Overqualification Onboarding Personality-Job Fit Theory Person-environment fit Probation Reference Résumé Simultaneous recruiting of new graduates Underemployment Work-at-home scheme

Roles	Co-op Employee Employer Internship Job Numerary Permanent Permatemp Supernumerary Supervisor Volunteer

Worker class	Blue-collar Gold-collar Green-collar Grey-collar Pink-collar White-collar

Career and training	Apprenticeship Avocation Career assessment Career counseling Career development Coaching Creative class Education Continuing education Continuing professional development E-learning Employability Further education Graduate school Induction training Initial Professional Development Knowledge worker Licensure Lifelong learning Practice-based professional learning Professional association Professional certification Professional development Professional school Reflective practice Retraining Vocational education Vocational school Vocational university Mentorship Occupational Outlook Handbook Practice firm Profession Tradesman Vocation

Attendance	Break Career break Furlough Gap year Leave of absence Long service leave No call, no show Sabbatical Sick leave Time clock

Schedules	35-hour workweek Eight-hour day Flextime Four-day week Overtime Retroactive overtime Shift work Telecommuting Working time Workweek and weekend

Wages and salaries	Income bracket Income tax Living wage Maximum wage National average salary World Europe Minimum wage Canada Hong Kong Europe USA Progressive wage Singapore Overtime rate Paid time off Performance-related pay Salary Salary cap Working poor

Benefits	Annual leave Casual Friday Day care Disability insurance Health insurance Life insurance Parental leave Pension Sick leave Take-home vehicle

Safety and health	Epilepsy and employment Human factors and ergonomics Industrial noise Protective clothing Occupational burnout Occupational disease Occupational exposure limit Occupational health psychology Occupational injury Occupational stress Repetitive strain injury Sick building syndrome Work accident Occupational fatality Workers' compensation Workplace phobia Workplace wellness

Equality	Affirmative action Equal pay for women

Infractions	Corporate abuse Accounting scandals Corporate behaviour Corporate crime Control fraud Corporate scandals Discrimination Dress code Employee handbook Employee monitoring Evaluation Labour law Sexual harassment Sleeping while on duty Wage theft Whistleblower Workplace bullying Workplace harassment Workplace incivility

Willingness	Civil conscription Conscription Dead-end job Extreme careerism Job satisfaction Organizational commitment McJob Refusal of work Slavery Bonded labor Human trafficking Labor camp Penal labour Peonage Truck system Unfree labour Wage slavery Workaholic Work aversion Work ethic Work–life balance Downshifting Slow living

Termination	At-will employment Dismissal Banishment room Constructive dismissal Wrongful dismissal Employee exit management Exit interview Layoff Notice period Pink slip Resignation Letter of resignation Restructuring Retirement Mandatory retirement Retirement age Severance package Golden handshake Golden parachute Turnover

Unemployment	Barriers to Employment Depression Great Depression Long Depression Discouraged worker Frictional unemployment Full employment Graduate unemployment Involuntary unemployment Jobless recovery Phillips curve Recession Great Recession Great Recession job losses List of recessions Recession-proof job Types of unemployment Unemployment Convention Unemployment benefits Unemployment extension Unemployment insurance Unemployment rates Employment rates Employment-to-population ratio Reserve army of labour Structural unemployment Technological unemployment Wage curve Youth unemployment

See also templates Aspects of corporations Aspects of jobs Aspects of occupations Aspects of organizations Aspects of workplaces Corporate titles Organized labor

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Wednesday, January 13, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.