Can't step away from the BlackBerry? Leaving a work voicemail at 10 p.m.? You might be a workaholic. No surprises there.
黑莓手机寸步不离？在晚上10点钟给别人留工作语音短信？那你可能就是个工作狂人，这也没有什么好大惊小怪的。
But new research suggests that may not be a bad thing.
但是新的研究认为身为工作狂人不一定就是件坏事。
A paper out of the Rouen Business School in France says workaholism defined by work involvement, feelings of being compelled to work and work enjoyment can actually be constructive.
法国鲁昂商学院（Rouen Business School）的一份研究报告说，工作狂──其界定因素包括对工作的投入程度、被强迫工作的感觉以及工作所带来的快感──实际上是积极的。
As long as the compulsion to work is self-driven, it can lead to personal feelings of accomplishment (I finished that project! I solved that accounting problem!) and benefit the organization (That project is finished ahead of schedule! Our clients think we're great!) according to Yehuda Baruch, the management professor behind the study.
参与这项研究的管理学教授耶胡迪·巴鲁（Yehuda Baruch）认为，只要工作的欲望是自发产生的，它就可以引发出个人的成就感（我完成了那个项目！我解决了那个财务问题！），也能让公司受益（那个项目比预定的时间提前完成了！我们的客户觉得我们很棒！）。
To be sure, many view workaholism as a destructive addiction that requires treatment, just like alcoholism and drug addiction, as the workaholic strays from the work-life balance equation accepted by most of society.
无可否认，许多人把工作狂看成一种有害的瘾，需要加以治疗，就像是酒瘾和毒瘾一样，因为工作狂偏离了社会上大多数人所接受的工作与生活的平衡方程。
But many workaholics still feel balance in their lives, they just have a different work-to-'life' ratio than most.
但是许多工作狂人在生活中还是感到了平衡，只不过他们的工作和生活的比率与多数人不同。
In some ways, workaholism is like chocoholism, Baruch explains: Eating some chocolate on a regular basis can have health benefits and provides energy and satisfaction. Same with work for a workaholic they are energized by their work and feel good when succeeding at a task. Unless a chocoholic or workaholic is damaging their physical or mental health, Baruch says they should just be left to eat or work in peace.
在某些方面，工作狂和巧克力狂一样。巴鲁解释说：经常吃点巧克力对健康有益，可以提供能量和满足感。工作对工作狂人也是一样，工作给了他们活力，成功地完成一个任务让他们感觉良好。除非巧克力狂或工作狂损坏了他们的身体和精神健康，否则就应该让他们自在地吃或工作。
However, workaholism is often confused with being over-worked. It's not just about the hours worked, says Baruch. The need for overtime pay, or a cruel boss, might force you to log long days. ('Horrible Bosses,' anyone?) And if you express too much enthusiasm about your work, a boss could take advantage of your willingness to work and ultimately make you feel over-worked. That's when stress a positive motivator turns into distress, he says.
不过，工作狂常常会与工作过度相混淆。巴鲁说，这不仅仅是工作时数的问题。你需要加班费，或者你有个冷酷的老板（《恶老板》(Horrible Bosses)，有人看过这部电影吗？），这些都强迫你必须加班。如果你对工作表现得太过热情，你的老板可能会因为你工作自觉而占你的便宜，最终让你觉得工作过度。这时候，压力──一个积极的促进因素──就会转变为痛苦。
Readers: Where do you fall on a workaholism scale? Do you get a thrill out of work? Do you think that's healthy?
读者们，你什么时候陷入过工作狂的状态？你为工作感到兴奋吗？你认为那样健康吗？
Melissa Korn
- research [ri´sə:tʃ]
n.&vi.调查；探究；研究 (初中英语单词) - actually [´æktʃuəli] ad.事实上；实际上 (初中英语单词)
- project [prə´dʒekt, ´prɔdʒekt] v.设计；投掷 n.计划 (初中英语单词)
- management [´mænidʒmənt] n.管理；处理；经营 (初中英语单词)
- treatment [´tri:tmənt] n.待遇；对待；治疗 (初中英语单词)
- energy [´enədʒi] n.活力，精力；能力 (初中英语单词)
- satisfaction [,sætis´fækʃən] n.满意；满足 (初中英语单词)
- physical [´fizikəl] a.物质的；有形的 (初中英语单词)
- mental [´mentl] a.精神的；心理的 (初中英语单词)
- enthusiasm [in´θju:ziæzəm] n.热心；狂热；爱好 (初中英语单词)
- advantage [əd´vɑ:ntidʒ] n.优势；利益 (初中英语单词)
- stress [stres] n.强调；压力 vt.强调 (初中英语单词)
- distress [di´stres] n.痛苦 vt.使苦恼 (初中英语单词)
- thrill [θril] v.震惊；激动；刺激 (初中英语单词)
- enjoyment [in´dʒɔimənt] n.享受；愉快；乐趣 (高中英语单词)
- accomplishment [ə´kʌmpliʃmənt] n.完成；成就；才艺 (高中英语单词)
- positive [´pɔzətiv] a.确定的 (高中英语单词)
- blackberry [´blækbəri] n.黑莓 (英语四级单词)
- destructive [di´strʌktiv] a.破坏性的 (英语四级单词)
- ultimately [´ʌltimitli] ad.最后，最终 (英语四级单词)
- compulsion [kəm´pʌlʃ(ə)n] n.强制；强迫 (英语六级单词)
- equation [i´kweiʃən] n.等式，方程式 (英语六级单词)
- willingness [´wiliŋnis] n.情愿，乐意，自愿 (英语六级单词)
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