It's Sunday and the whole world has a day off. Where are you?
a) In bed with a cup of hot coffee and lots of magazines.
b) In bed with...
c) On a chair hunched over your computer in a dimly lit office working away.

It's 8 p.m. and the whole office is on its way home. Where are you?
a) Balancing on one foot in the local bus.
b) Balancing on one foot in the local train.
c) Balancing more than 30 files on your desk.

It's the lunch break and the whole staff files out to fill its stomach. Where are you?
a) Digging into a masala dosa in the office canteen.
b) Digging into a tandoori chicken at the local restaurant.
c) Digging into moth-eaten, cobwebbed files for a voucher signed in the year 1942.

If you clicked 'c' for all of the above, it's time you stopped and considered the appalling fact that you just might be a workaholic. As experts say, accepting the truth about your condition is the first step towards recovery. Accept the fact that either you are a helpless (make that hopeless) fool or a hard-nosed workhorse who needs help.

Any person who puts work above everything else, works overtime without being paid for it, who puts in more than their share, who takes on other's responsibilities, who neglects self and family could be called a workaholic. There is a guilt chip that is embedded into the psyche of the workaholic.

Even minutes spent apart from work, gnaws into their conscience. "My firm has an off on Saturday but people usually come in to finish off their backlog and if I stay home a voice at the back of my head keeps cribbing 'I should be in the office'," grimaces Rupa.

The causes for work addiction could be many. Sometimes it is hard to prove yourself or make a mark in the office, as Meghna Acharya, a graphic designer found out. "The men in the office used to work till late and sometimes even stay back at night to finish the work. To prove that I was no less than these men, I used to do the same. Late working hours became a routine till I realised that I was doing more than my share of work. My male colleagues spent more time in the day on a smoke or lunch or just browsing, so they had to stay back. I could easily finish my work by evening and reach home at a sensible hour."

Some psychoanalysts have suggested that overwork could mean keeping away from other emotional aspects of life. A safe, impersonal environment to keep out of touch with the world. "It's not my fault if I have got a lot to do," says Suparana casting anxious glances at her open file. "What's the fuss about anyway. So what if I work a lot? "

The fuss is about backache, posture problems, eye strain, acidity, indigestion, RSI, chronic fatigue syndrome, irritation, frustration, agony and cramps, just to mention a few. Apart from the physical effects, the addiction causes turmoil among family members especially with the spouse. To cut the long story short, if you are putting your entire life into your work, you are preparing yourself for an early burnout. It's time to wake up and smell the coffee, the roses, the garbage across the road and take in the whole wide world outside the office!