Next time you find yourself feeling sorry for the "workaholic" drudge who seems chained to the desk for hours on end, don't. Chances are he or she is healthier, happier and gets far more sleep than more laid-back colleagues.
So says a survey by Britain's Institute of Personnel and Development, which dismisses the "boring drudge" image as a myth. "Far from being downtrodden drudges," according to the report, "they express significantly more satisfaction with their life in general than non-workaholics."
Report co-author Melissa Compton-Edwards says many so-called workaholics "are work enthusiasts who derive satisfaction from their jobs and voluntarily work long hours." For 60 hours or more of labor a week, the payoff seems to be workers more content with their finances, happier in their relationships and who sleep more soundly.
The ones who ranked highest in the happy workers standings, says Compton-Edwards, are those who run one-man or one-woman financial services, sales personnel and craftsmen who run their own businesses. Sex doesn't matter -- male and female workaholics crop up in about even numbers.
