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Work aversion
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(Redirected from Work aversion disorder)

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This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page . This article needs additional citations for verification. (April 2011) This article may contain original research. (April 2011) The neutrality of this article is disputed. (April 2010) 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.
Contents [hide] 1 Causes 2 Complications 3 Treatment 4 Criticism 5 See also 6 References 7 Further reading 8 External links

Causes
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Work aversion usually occurs in persons who have previously been employed, and can have a variety of causes. These include: [citation needed] 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. Obsessive-compulsive disorder: Due to neurological dysfunction, the person becomes preoccupied with anxietybased 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.

Complications

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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. [citation needed] 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
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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. A 1987 public opinion survey in Nashville found that 45% of respondents believed homelessness is caused by work aversion. [3]

Treatment

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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. [4]

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

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The idea that work itself has intrinsic value or is an indicator of health or goodness can be traced to the Protestant Reformation.[5]

See also
Anti-work Drapetomania Disability fraud Ergophobia Procrastination Slacker Work ethic Work-leisure dichotomy
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Refusal of work Goofing off

References

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1. ^ a b Boyes, Roger (2007-09-15). "Forget burnout boreout is the new office disease" . The Times (London). 2. ^ http://books.google.com/books? id=yNFN1OpnkBkC&pg=PA80&lpg=PA80&dq=%22aversion+to+work%22&source=bl&ots=l-hcwD5o25&sig=9ZAxrFkB3aBQn7GcdUNeKFoGbQ&hl=en&ei=plP2SdmGOpDhtge_r8m6Dw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=5 3. ^ http://books.google.com/books? id=gGCqJic8ms4C&pg=PA318&dq=%22work+aversion%22&lr=&as_brr=3&ie=ISO-8859-1&output=html&cd=51 4. ^ http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=PEg0AAAAIBAJ&sjid=w2MEAAAAIBAJ&pg=2954,5696465&dq=workhardening&hl=en 5. ^ http://www.coe.uga.edu/~rhill/workethic/hist.htm

Further reading
The Abolition of Work and Other Myths response to... The Abolition of Work, by Bob Black.

[edit] , Neala Schleuning, (Summer, 1995), which was (supposed to be) a

External links
Social Security Disability home page
V T E

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Employment
See also: Aspects of w orkplaces Corporate titles Organized labor

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Classifications

Casual Contingent Full-time Part-time Self-employed Independent contractor Temporary Tenure Wage labour Application Background check Business netw orking Contract Cover letter Curriculum Vit (CV) Drug testing e-recruitment Employment counsellor Employment reference letter Executive search Induction programme Job fair Job fraud Job hunting Job interview Labour brokering Overqualification Onboarding Personality-Job Fit Theory Person-environment fit Probation Rsum Simultaneous recruiting of new graduates Underemployment Work-at-home scheme Co-op Employee Employer Internship Job Numerary Permanent Permatemp Supernumerary

Hiring

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Roles Worker class

Co-op Employee Employer Internship Job Numerary Permanent Permatemp Supernumerary Supervisor Volunteer Blue-collar w orker Gold-collar w orker Green-collar w orker Grey-collar w orker Pink-collar w orker White-collar w orker 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 Know ledge w orker Licensure Lifelong learning Practice-based professional learning Professional association Professional certification Professional development Reflective practice Retraining Vocational education Vocational school Vocational university) Mentorship Occupational Outlook Handbook Profession Tradesman Vocation Break Career break Furlough Gap year Leave of absence Long service leave No call, no show Sabbatical Sick leave Time clock 35-hour w orkw eek Eight-hour day Flextime Four-day w eek Overtime Retroactive overtime Shift w ork Telecommuting Working time Workw eek and w eekend Income bracket Living w age Maximum w age National average salary (World Europe) Minimum w age (Canada Hong Kong Europe USA) Overtime rate Paid time off Performance-related pay Salary Salary cap Working poor Annual leave Casual Friday Day care Disability insurance Health insurance Life insurance Parental leave Pension Sick leave Take-home vehicle 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 w ellness Affirmative action Equal pay for w omen 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 w hile on duty Whistleblow er Workplace bullying Workplace incivility Workplace killings Civil conscription Conscription Dead-end job Extreme careerism Job satisfaction Organizational commitment McJob Refusal of w ork Slavery (Bonded labor Human trafficking Labor camp Penal labour Peonage Truck system Unfree labour Wage slavery) Workaholic Work aversion Work ethic Worklife balance (Dow nshifting Slow living) At-w ill employment Dismissal (Constructive dismissal Wrongful dismissal) Employee exit management Exit interview Layoff Pink slip Resignation (Letter of resignation) Restructuring Retirement

Career and training

Attendance Schedules

Wages and salaries

Benefits

Safety and health

Equality

Infractions

Willingness

Term ination

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Term ination

(Mandatory retirement Retirement age) Severance package (Golden handshake Golden parachute) Turnover Depression (Great Depression Long Depression) Discouraged w orker Frictional unemployment Full employment Graduate 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

Unem ploym ent

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Categories: Anxiety disorders

Occupational diseases

Criticism and refusal of work

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