Meaning & use
ergophobia
Last updated
UK/ˌɜːɡəˈfəʊbiə/
US/ˌɜːrɡəˈfoʊbiə/
Meaning
noununcountablemedical
An extreme and unreasonable fear of work or of the workplace.
Grammar: Used without an article in most cases: she suffers from ergophobia.
Patterns
- suffer from ergophobia
- ergophobia about something
His therapist said the panic he felt each morning was a form of ergophobia.
Ergophobia can make even starting a new job feel impossible.
She was diagnosed with ergophobia after years of avoiding offices.
Common combinations
- suffer from ergophobia
- He suffers from ergophobia and rarely holds a job.
- treat ergophobia
- Therapy can treat ergophobia.
- symptoms of ergophobia
- Sweating and dread are symptoms of ergophobia.
- diagnosed with ergophobia
- She was diagnosed with ergophobia last year.
Synonyms and how they differ
- work phobia
- Work phobia is a plain-English way of saying the same thing and is easier for general readers.
- laziness
- Laziness describes unwillingness to work, while ergophobia is a genuine anxiety disorder, not a lack of effort.
Opposites
workaholism
Word family
- ergophobic adjective
- suffering from a fear of work
- phobia noun
- an extreme, irrational fear
- ergonomics noun
- the study of designing workplaces for comfort and efficiency
Commonly confused: ergophobia or ergonomics?
ergophobia vs ergonomics
Ergonomics deals with the design of equipment and workplaces, while ergophobia is a fear of work.
Practice
What is ergophobia?
Choose one answer.
Ergo means work in Greek and phobia means fear. The other options refer to different phobias or to no phobia at all.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “ergophobia”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.
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