A disconcerting new survey from OnePoll reports some unhealthy trends inside America’s workforce. Almost half of Americans—48 percent—consider themselves workaholics, and most people filling out the survey indicated they felt stressed about work at that exact moment.
That stress is warranted, according to the survey, the average American works about four hours per week without pay, and they spend another four hours just thinking about their job.
How do you know you’re a workaholic? Researchers pointed to three “symptoms” of workaholism: feeling like you’re too busy to take a vacation, worrying about work on a day off and checking your email right when you wake up (58 percent of those surveyed said they open emails first thing in the morning).
While you can chalk some of the data up to work obsession, 28 percent of respondents said their workaholism stems from financial necessity.
OnePoll conducted the survey in partnership with The Vision Council to, in part, examine the eye strain that comes from working long hours in front of a screen. The average respondent reported 7.5 hours per day in front of a screen, while 35 percent said they average more than nine hours in front of a screen. The average worker reported eye pain four times each day as well, lending merit to that 20/20/20 rule (take a break every 20 minutes to look at something 20 feet away for 20 seconds to promote eye health and relieve eye strain).
