Ergophobia

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Ergophobia
SpecialtyPsychology

Ergophobia, (also referred to as ergasiophobia or ponophobia) is an abnormal and persistent fear of work (manual labor, non-manual labor, etc.) or fear of finding employment. It may be considered a form of social phobia or performance anxiety. The condition is recognised as a derivative of Occupational burnout, derived from a persisting sense of pressure or excessive expectations in a workplace.

People with ergophobia experience irrational undue anxiety about the work and the workplace environment. For example, fear of failing at assigned tasks, public speaking at the workplace (both of which are types of performance anxiety), socialising with co-workers (a type of social phobia), and fear of emotional, psychological and/or physical injuries.[1]

The term ergophobia comes from the Greek "ergon" (work) and "phobos" (fear).

Phobias[]

A phobia is a psychological condition in which an individual has a persisting fear of a situation or object that disproportionate to the threat they actually pose.[2] This condition stems from one's need to constantly be alert and avoid the source of the phobia that results in a kind of psychological distress. Phobias can be specific to a certain stimulus or general to social situations. The most effective treatment for phobias is exposure therapy.[3]

Symptoms[]

Ergophobia can manifest in both physical and psychological symptoms, and prominently presents itself as a sense of vocational or emotional burnout. There have been several studies focusing on burnout among teachers, finding that those experiencing ergophobia performed significantly worse on a physical health index compared to their colleagues.[1][4] There are recognised links between a diminished physical and mental health and "burnout",[5] where physical symptoms include rapid heartbeat, dry mouth, excessive sweating, general uneasiness, and panic attacks.[1]

History and measurement[]

Ergophobia was defined by William Upson as “the art of laziness”.[6] In a 1933 edition of the Saturday Evening Post, Upson documents the definition as a “morbid fear or hatred of work”,[7] but the publication later found the name used by a hospital in New Jersey in the 1860s.[4]  

Ergophobia is a corollary of Occupational Burnout, which is thought to be the result of long-term unresolvable job stress. The term “burnout” did not come to be used with regularity until the 1970s in the United States. Freudenberger, for example, used it to describe the phenomenon of - physical and emotional exhaustion, with associated negative attitudes arising from intense interactions when working with people.[8] Later studies on ergophobia and occupational burnout build upon the existing conception of Freudenberger’s research, and found the phenomenon was quite common in a variety of human service occupations. These occupations include health care and mental health care professionals, social welfare workers, lawyers, and business organization employees.[1]

Although there is no formal diagnosis procedure, the Maslach Burnout Inventory - a series of introspective occupational burnout questions, is used together with Areas of Worklife Survey (AWS) to assess levels of burnout. These tests measure emotional burnout, depersonalization, and personal achievements, and are suitable for both individual and group assessment.[1]

Clinical assessment[]

Ergophobia is not defined as a phobia in the DSM 5 manual, but could potentially be classified as a subset of performance anxiety.[citation needed] There is a potential connection between executive dysfunction and work-related anxiety, as there is a known connection between dysfunction and general anxiety disorder, though there is not distinguishable evidence on which one causes the other.[9]

Similar syndromes[]

Generalized Anxiety disorder (GAD) could be a similar syndrome, where one experiences uncontrollably elevated levels of anxiety and worries over varying issues and events.[10] As with phobia, the anxiety of individuals with GAD experienced is disproportionate to the actual threat which the event or situation poses. Adults with GAD can feel stressed by work-related concerns regarding everyday tasks, evaluations, and presentations.[10]

Social anxiety disorder, also known as social phobia, is characterized by feelings of anxiety induced by social interactions or situations, in which the individual may be scrutinized or rejected by others.[11] This anxiety is easily exacerbated by work-related situations such as presentations, professional and friendly social interactions at the workplace.[10]

A similar condition is “Other specified Anxiety Disorder”, in which there is distress and significant levels of anxiety, but not in a manner that fully embodies the diagnostic symptoms of anxiety disorders.[10] This disorder greatly influences performance in social, occupational or other important situations, therefore may seem similar to Ergophobia or occupational burnout.[10]

In culture[]

Ergophobia is being displayed and discussed in pop culture as suffering from burnout. Being burnt-out is conceptualized as encompassing three components: emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and reduced personal accomplishment. When people are seen as characteristically “burnt-out”, their attitudes towards others change, becoming more cynical and retracted from normal social dynamics.[1] Specifically, these traits are shown in two parts externally, emotional exhaustion refers to the feeling of being emotionally drained after interacting with other people, and depersonalization is expressed in negative attitudes or unsympathetic responses towards other people.[1] When an individual perceives their sense of competence as lesser than their co-workers, or view their intelligence as greater than their colleagues who are being elevated to higher roles, there is a higher chance that their sense of personal accomplishment gets diminished.[1]

A service-based economy has the potential to exacerbate emotional exhaustion as there are simply more people employed in this sector. Currently, 79.45 percent of people in the U.S are employed in the service industry.[12] Due to the fact that burnout or ergophobia is most commonly found in service sector roles, it is becoming a more prevalent issue in contemporary society.[13]

The number of ergophobia cases increases with the number of people working in an ergophobia conducting environment, regardless of changes in the rates reported of ergophobia itself.[14] The changing circumstances of employer-employee relations has also been significantly altered by this evolution to a service-based economy.[15] Performance appraisal systems are now a popular tool within organizations to enhance employee commitment and productivity.[1] Such system, in which the relationship between employee and boss is much closer, exacerbates emotional exhaustion among employees and subsequently feelings of ergophobia.[1]

In recent years, mental health has become a less taboo subject, and there is a proliferation of mental health awareness discourses in popular Western culture. An example of such a mental-health-initiatives led by the private sphere, is the Canadian campaign, Bell Let’s Talk. Such worldwide and pervasive initiatives may, however, lead to misdiagnosis.[14] As the fear of work itself is such a general catchall term, many may believe that they suffer from ergophobia when in fact the root issue is a plethora of other mental health issues such as Generalized Anxiety Disorder or social anxiety disorder.[15]

Notes and references[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g h i j Belcastro, Philip A.; Hays, Leon C. (1984). "Ergophilia . . . ergophobia . . . ergo . . . burnout?". Professional Psychology: Research and Practice. 15 (2): 260–270. doi:10.1037/0735-7028.15.2.260. ISSN 1939-1323.
  2. ^ Agras, S.; Sylvester, D.; Oliveau, D. (1969). "The epidemiology of common fears and phobia". Comprehensive Psychiatry. 10 (2): 151–156. doi:10.1016/0010-440x(69)90022-4. PMID 5774552.
  3. ^ Wolitzky-Taylor, Kate B.; Horowitz, Jonathan D.; Powers, Mark B.; Telch, Michael J. (July 2008). "Psychological approaches in the treatment of specific phobias: A meta-analysis". Clinical Psychology Review. 28 (6): 1021–1037. doi:10.1016/j.cpr.2008.02.007. ISSN 0272-7358. PMID 18410984.
  4. ^ Jump up to: a b Guglielmi, R Sergio; Tatrow, Kristin (March 1998). "Occupational Stress, Burnout, and Health in Teachers: A Methodological and Theoretical Analysis". Review of Educational Research. 68 (1): 61–99. doi:10.3102/00346543068001061. ISSN 0034-6543. S2CID 145613756.
  5. ^ Belcastro, Philip A.; Hays, Leon C. (1984). "Ergophilia . . . ergophobia . . . ergo . . . burnout?". Professional Psychology: Research and Practice. 15 (2): 260–270. doi:10.1037/0735-7028.15.2.260. ISSN 1939-1323.
  6. ^ Upson, William Hazlett (1933). Ergophobia (Manuscript). University of Vermont Libraries, Special Collections. Archived from the original on 2018-12-05. Retrieved 2018-12-04.
  7. ^ Upson, William (1933). "Ergophobia - Saturday Evening Post". www.saturdayeveningpost.com. Retrieved 2021-04-09.
  8. ^ Freudenberger, Herbert J. (1974-01-01). "Staff Burn-Out". Journal of Social Issues. 30 (1): 159–165. doi:10.1111/j.1540-4560.1974.tb00706.x. ISSN 1540-4560.
  9. ^ Eysenck, M. W.; Derakshan, N.; Santos, R.; Calvo, M. G. (2007). "Anxiety and cognitive performance: attentional control theory". Emotion. 7 (2): 336–53. doi:10.1037/1528-3542.7.2.336. PMID 17516812. S2CID 33462708.
  10. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e Rada, R. E.; Johnson-Leong, C. (2004). "Stress, burnout, anxiety and depression among dentists". The Journal of the American Dental Association. 135 (6): 788–794. doi:10.14219/jada.archive.2004.0279. PMID 15270165. S2CID 1707474.
  11. ^ Pereira-Lima, K.; Loureiro, S. R. (2015). "Burnout, anxiety, depression, and social skills in medical residents". Psychology, Health & Medicine. 20 (3): 353–362. doi:10.1080/13548506.2014.936889. PMID 25030412. S2CID 19609254.
  12. ^ Hsu, H. Y.; Chen, S. H.; Yu, H. Y.; Lou, J. H. (2010). "Job stress, achievement motivation and occupational burnout among male nurses". Journal of Advanced Nursing. 66 (7): 1592–1601. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2648.2010.05323.x. PMID 20492017.
  13. ^ Gabris, G. T.; Ihrke, D. M. (2001). "Does performance appraisal contribute to heightened levels of employee burnout?". Public Personnel Management. 30 (2): 157–172. doi:10.1177/009102600103000203. S2CID 143186942.
  14. ^ Jump up to: a b Ahola, Kirsi (2007). Occupational burnout and health. People and Work Research Reports. Helsinki: Finnish Institute of Occupational Health. ISBN 978-951-802-794-5. ISSN 1237-6183.
  15. ^ Jump up to: a b Brown, Michelle; Benson, John (2003). "Rated to exhaustion? Reactions to performance appraisal processes". Industrial Relations. 34 (1): 67–81. doi:10.1111/1468-2338.00259. S2CID 153654853.
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