Work aversion

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.

Causes

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.
Social anxiety disorder
Avoidant personality disorder
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder
Autism spectrum disorders
Obsessive-compulsive disorder: Due to neurological dysfunction, the person becomes preoccupied with anxiety-based 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.
Negative symptoms of schizophrenia
Side effects of medication, such as weariness and fatigue
Insomnia or various problems with sleep
The effects of chronic health problems, including cancer, diabetes, thyroid disorders, and many others, may interfere with a person's ability to work

Complications

Since the term work aversion only applies to those with a 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 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.
Suicide, due to social pressures to work and in many countries, a legal requirement to register for JSA (welfare/unemployment) if unemployed.
Imprisonment or community service and a criminal record, in many countries, it is/was a criminal offense to refuse to work and just to live off unearned income.

Treatment

A source of help and support would be work anorexics and underachievers anonymous (WUA)

The mental health community does not recognize work aversion as an illness or disease and therefore no medically recognized treatments exist. Additional ways of treating work aversion as an illness people 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.^[3]

Criticism

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

The idea that work itself has intrinsic value or is an indicator of health or goodness can be traced to the Protestant Reformation.^[4]

References

^ ^a ^b Boyes, Roger (2007-09-15). "Forget burnout, boreout is the new office disease". The Times. London.
^ Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal - Eric Schlosser - Google Books. Books.google.com. Retrieved 2013-07-04.
^ https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=PEg0AAAAIBAJ&sjid=w2MEAAAAIBAJ&pg=2954,5696465&dq=work-hardening&hl=en
^ Roger B. Hil. "Historical Context of the Work Ethic". workethic.coe.uga.edu. Retrieved 2015-08-22.

External links

Social Security Disability home page

[business.timesonline.co.uk-1] Boyes, Roger (2007-09-15). "Forget burnout, boreout is the new office disease". The Times. London.

[2] Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal - Eric Schlosser - Google Books. Books.google.com. Retrieved 2013-07-04.

[3] ttps://news.google.com/newspapers?id=PEg0AAAAIBAJ&sjid=w2MEAAAAIBAJ&pg=2954,5696465&dq=work-hardening&hl=en

[4] Roger B. Hil. "Historical Context of the Work Ethic". workethic.coe.uga.edu. Retrieved 2015-08-22.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

v t e Employment
Classifications	Academic tenure Casual Contingent work Full-time job Gig worker Job sharing Part-time job Self-employment Side job Skilled worker Journeyman Technician Tradesperson Independent contractor Labour hire Temporary work Laborer Wage labour
Hiring	Application Background check Business networking Cover letter Curriculum vitae Drug testing Employment contract Employment counsellor Executive search list Induction programme Job fair Job fraud Job hunting Job interview Letter of recommendation Onboarding Overqualification Person–environment fit Personality–job fit theory Personality hire Probation Recruitment Résumé Simultaneous recruiting of new graduates Underemployment Work-at-home scheme
Roles	Cooperative Employee Employer Internship Job Labour hire Permanent employment Supervisor Volunteering
Working class	Blue-collar Green-collar Grey-collar Pink-collar Precariat White-collar Red-collar New-collar No-collar Orange-collar Scarlet-collar Black-collar Gold-collar
Career and training	Apprenticeship Artisan Master craftsman Avocation Career assessment Career counseling Career development Coaching Creative class Education Continuing education E-learning Employability Further education Graduate school Induction training Knowledge worker Licensure Lifelong learning Overspecialization Practice-based professional learning Professional association Professional certification Professional development Professional school Reflective practice Retraining Vocational education Vocational school Vocational university Mentorship Occupational Outlook Handbook Practice firm Profession Operator Professional Tradesman Vocation
Attendance	Break Break room Career break Furlough Gap year Leave of absence Long service leave No call, no show Sabbatical Sick leave Time clock
Schedules	35-hour workweek Four-day week Eight-hour day 996 working hour system Flextime On-call Overtime Remote work Six-hour day Shift work Working time Workweek and weekend
Wages and salaries	Income bracket Income tax Living wage Maximum wage National average salary World Europe Minimum wage Canada Hong Kong Europe United States Progressive wage Singapore Overtime rate Paid time off Performance-related pay Salary cap Wage compression Working poor
Benefits	Annual leave Casual Friday Child care Disability insurance Health insurance Life insurance Marriage leave Parental leave Pension Sick leave United States Take-home vehicle
Safety and health	Crunch Epilepsy and employment Human factors and ergonomics Karoshi List of countries by rate of fatal workplace accidents Occupational burnout Occupational disease Occupational exposure limit Occupational health psychology Occupational injury Occupational noise Occupational stress Personal protective equipment Repetitive strain injury Right to sit United States Sick building syndrome Work accident Occupational fatality Workers' compensation Workers' right to access the toilet Workplace health promotion Workplace phobia Workplace wellness
Equal opportunity	Affirmative action Equal pay for equal work Gender pay gap Glass ceiling
Infractions	Corporate collapses and scandals Accounting scandals Control fraud Corporate behaviour Corporate crime Discrimination Exploitation of labour Dress code Employee handbook Employee monitoring Evaluation Labour law Sexual harassment Sleeping while on duty Wage theft Whistleblower Workplace bullying Workplace harassment Workplace incivility
Willingness	Boreout Careerism Civil conscription Conscription Critique of work Dead-end job Job satisfaction McJob Organizational commitment Refusal of work Slavery Bonded labour Human trafficking Labour camp Penal labour Peonage Truck wages Unfree labour Wage slavery Work ethic Work–life interface Downshifting Slow living Workaholic
Termination	At-will employment Dismissal Banishment room Constructive dismissal Wrongful dismissal Employee offboarding Exit interview Layoff Notice period Pink slip Resignation Letter of resignation Restructuring Retirement Mandatory retirement Retirement age Retirement planning Severance package Golden handshake Golden parachute Turnover
Unemployment	Barriers to entry Discouraged worker Economic depression Great Depression Long Depression Frictional unemployment Full employment Graduate unemployment Involuntary unemployment Jobless recovery Phillips curve Recession Great Recession Job losses caused by the Great Recession Lists of recessions Recession-proof job Reserve army of labour Structural unemployment Technological unemployment Types of unemployment Unemployment benefits Unemployment Convention, 1919 Unemployment extension List of countries by unemployment rate Employment rates Employment-to-population ratio Wage curve Youth unemployment
Public programs	Workfare Unemployment insurance Make-work job Job creation program Job creation index Job guarantee Employer of last resort Guaranteed minimum income Right to work Historical: U.S.A.: Civil Works Administration Works Progress Administration Comprehensive Employment and Training Act
See also	Bullshit job Busy work Credentialism and educational inflation Emotional labor Evil corporation Going postal Kiss up kick down Labor rights Make-work job Narcissism in the workplace Post-work society Presenteeism Psychopathy in the workplace Sunday scaries Slow movement (culture) Toxic leader Toxic workplace Workhouse
See also templates Aspects of corporations Aspects of jobs Aspects of occupations Aspects of organizations Aspects of workplaces Corporate titles Critique of work Organized labor