A workaholic is addicted to working, devoting excessive hours to a job and sometimes becoming anxious when unable to do so, says Dr. Robinson, a psychotherapist in Asheville, N.C., who treats workaholics and other addicts.
When devotion to work becomes unhealthy side effects may include fatigue, sleep disorders, and stress-related ailments, such as heart attack and stroke, says Diane Fassel, author of "Working Ourselves to Death: The High Costs of Workaholism and the Rewards of Recovery" (Harper Collins, 1990), and president of Newmeasures, a survey research firm in Boulder, Colo. Relationships with family or friends also may suffer from neglect, she says.