Some people get used to work so much they become addicted. They are called workalcoholics. Like every other junkies, they need their shoot every day. But we all have it, don't we ? (unless your are a child or a lucky retired person). Ok, most of us don't work on week ends. But we keep thinking about it, so it almost the same.

So what is a difference between a workalcoholic and an standard employee who accomplishes his duty properly ? The difference is ... workalcoholics just don't want to quit. Whereas the standard worker could easily after a week or two of holidays start to imagine he could do without his job, the druggies sort things out to never have a week holiday. Yep.

Here is a little test I made to check If you got yourself contaminated. Please, read the following statements and ask yourselves if you feel they are true or not.

1. In your cellphone directory, 80% of the numbers are business contacts. The 20% others are friends you can call sometimes to give you a hand for your job. And you feel great about it.

2. The last time you had a real deep conversation with the person you are living with and you sometimes remember you are in love with (what's his/her name already ?) was... in January ? February ? 1999 ? Or something like that. But you truly remember it was dealing about your new promotion.

The last time you had a real deep conversation with your boss was yesterday.

3. You sincerely believe that your job is the best part of your week end.

4. For their first 3 months in your company, the newcomers think your are the night watchman. Until they really get into work being assigned to your department.

5. You always have so many things to do, to think about or to validate that having a clone or two would be helpful. Though, your job would be boring and so far, you can handle it.

6. It takes 3 hours to synchronize your agendas

7. You just can't let something unfinished. Especially the launchment of a new project.

8. Some people in your company believe your are a zombie. Not because you are pale and terrifying but because your are contagious.

9. You like it so much when tasks are urgent and challenging that you settle an email alert every ten minutes to put pressure on you for every thing you have to on your to do list. Some days you spend your time checking your are late. And that gives you a wonderful boost !

10. For your son's birthday, you offered him a palm pilot to help him organize his life. Unfortunately, he couldn't read the manual because he was only 3 years old. During one minute, you did consider to lay him off for incompetence.

So. Are you or are you not ?

If you agreed with at least five of those sentences, you are one of them. But it's a normal situation in our modern society. And you could get fired for less than 3.

If you agreed with all, you should start to think it could some day become a problem.

If you thought some of the questions were perfectible, and you started rewriting them until you decided the whole process of this test should be managed differently and you settle a work group in your own company that would tackle the problem during its week ends... then it's time to get some help pal !