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Workaholism: A critical but neglected factor in O.D

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Stephen Vodanovich at University of West Florida
Stephen Vodanovich
Chris Piotrowski at University of West Florida
Chris Piotrowski
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Abstract

This paper calls attention to the importance of the issue of workaholism for O.D. practitioners. We present a review of the literature, including studies that discuss the issue of workaholism and its implications for effective organizational functioning. Specifically, the authors address a) the personal toll of workaholism on individual employees, b) the impact of workaholism on organizational life, and c) the implications of considering workaholism as a critical factor in O.D. consulting.
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Workaholism: A Critical But Neglected Factor in O.D.
Vodanovich, Stephen J;Piotrowski, Chris
Organization Development Journal; Summer 2006; 24, 2; ProQuest
pg. 55
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
... The concept of wellbeing refers to general mental health which includes positive self-regard, competence, autonomy and integrated functioning (Warr, 1999, cited in Burke, 2001. The majority of research relating to workaholism indicates that it may have a harmful consequence on employee well-being (Vodanovich & Piotrowski, 2006). For example, physical and psychological heath issues are more reported by workaholics (Spence & Robbins, 1992). ...
... Workaholics experience difficulty in maintaining healthy relationships outside their jobs. They have less satisfaction with family, friends and their community (Vodanovich & Piotrowski, 2006). ...
• Sahar, W. & Waqar, S. (2014). Workaholism and Psychological Well-Being among Employees of Banking and Telecom Sector. International Journal of Case Studies. 3 (10),12-29. available at http://www.casestudiesjournal.com/Volume%203%20Issue%2010%20Paper%204.pdf
Article
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  • Jan 2014
... Currently, there is not an agreed-upon definition of workaholism [4]. Nevertheless, scientific interest in this topic is growing since it is considered able to impact different areas of human functioning, at the individual, family, organizational and societal levels [22]. Despite work addiction not generally being accepted as a clinical condition and not being officially listed in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM-5) [23], many writers have conceptualized it as pathology. ...
... Although some researchers highlighted some positive aspects of workaholism, such as high work motivation [26,27] or work passion [28,29], today the prevailing perspective suggests that workaholism comprises negative consequences on different areas of human functioning [4,6,22]. ...
Daily Effect of Recovery on Exhaustion: A Cross-Level Interaction Effect of Workaholism
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Workaholics generally allocate an excessive amount of time and energy to their work at the expense of having time for recovery from work. Nevertheless, a complete recovery is an essential prerequisite for well-being. This study examines the moderating role of workaholism in the relationship between daily recovery and daily exhaustion. Data were collected among 95 participants who completed a general questionnaire and a diary booklet for five consecutive working days. Multilevel analysis results confirmed a cross-level interaction effect of workaholism, showing that the negative relationship between recovery and exhaustion at the daily level is weaker for those with a high (versus low) level of workaholism. These insights suggest the promotion of interventions aimed at addressing workaholism among workers, and the design of projects able to stimulate recovery from work, particularly for workaholics.
... Araştırmalarda göz ardı edilen bir diğer nokta işkolik bireylerin mükemmeliyetçi yaklaşımının diğer çalışanlar üzerinde yarattığı strestir. İşkolik bireylerin diğer çalışanları kendileriyle karşılaştırıp yetersiz olarak değerlendirmesi sağlıklı kişilerarası ilişkilerin kurulmasını engellemektedir (Vodanovich ve Piotrowski, 2006). ...
İŞKOLİKLİĞİN ÖRGÜTSEL BAĞLILIK VE PERFORMANS ARASINDAKİ İLİŞKİDE ARACI ROLÜ
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  • Dec 2019
... Workaholism is a common addiction of modern times, particularly for Western countries [9], where with the expansion of new technologies and Internet availability, people can constantly be connected to their work [10]. For organizations, which try to confront the global competition successfully [11], it is easier to ask employees to be always available and more and more engaged in supplemental job-related activities thanks to the aid of information and telecommunications tools, even when they are at home and away from the conventional workplace [12]. ...
Unsustainable Working Conditions: The Association of Destructive Leadership, Use of Technology, and Workload with Workaholism and Exhaustion
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  • Jan 2019
Job demands typical of the current working environments and negative leadership styles may be considered unsustainable factors able to decrease workers well-being. Moreover, contrary to the idea that workaholism is an innate individual characteristic, a recent perspective considers the working context able to foster its insurgence. In order to investigate unsustainable dynamics within organizations, this study aimed at examining whether (1) destructive leadership increases workload and supplemental work supported by technology, (2) the three job demands increases workaholism, and (3) workaholism mediates their relationship with exhaustion. A convenience sample of 432 workers filled in a self-report questionnaire. The structural equation model results showed a positive relationship between destructive leadership and workload, off-work hour Technology-Assisted Job Demand (off-TAJD), and workaholism. Moreover, both workload and off-TAJD partially mediated the relationship between destructive leadership and workaholism. Finally, workaholism was a mediator between the three demands and exhaustion. The study confirmed a positive association between job demands and workaholism, and, in turn, their association with exhaustion, highlighting in particular the role of two under-investigated determinants, namely destructive leadership and off-TAJD, as unsustainable working conditions. Despite limitations, above all the cross-sectional design, this study provided useful indications for research and practice.
... In the earlier stages, although workaholic behaviors exist, they do not have an adverse influence on one's health. However, as the syndrome continues, workaholic tendencies strengthen and the extreme fixation with work starts to affect daily life (Piotrowski and Vodanovich, 2006). ...
Exploring the link between work and health: Workaholism and family history of metabolic diseases
Article
  • Apr 2017
Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine if facets of workaholism are associated with a family history of metabolic diseases. Design/methodology/approach Data on workaholism and family history of health issues were collected, through administration of an online survey, from 194 employees. Findings Workaholism significantly related to a family history of metabolic diseases. Research limitations/implications Future researchers should collect objective disease data, examine work-related moderators as well as potential mediators, and implement longitudinal designs with much larger samples. That said, the data reveal a correlation between workaholism and family history of metabolic disease. Practical implications The results provide valuable information to help promote a healthy workforce and to improve employees’ health by reducing workaholic tendencies. They could also help to minimize health-related costs associated with metabolic diseases that could develop in parallel with workaholism, as well as costs in terms of a loss in productivity due absenteeism. Originality/value It is, the authors believe, the first study to investigate the relationship between facets of workaholism and family history of health issues that have often been associated with metabolic diseases.
... For example, workaholism is positively related to marital estrangement (Robinson, Carroll, & Flowers, 2001) and marital disaffection (Robinson, Flowers, & Ng, 2006). For the workaholic, work serves as a reinforcer and other areas of life noticeably decline, eventually causing one to become dysfunctional (Piotrowski & Vodanovich, 2006). For example, workaholics are more likely to have higher work-life imbalance and lower life satisfaction than nonworkaholics (Aziz & Zickar, 2006;Bonebright et al., 2000). ...
Workaholism, Exercise, and Stress-Related Illness
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  • Oct 2015
The purpose of this study was to examine whether workaholism is associated with an increased risk of stress-related illness and if exercise is linked to a reduced risk of stress-related illness. Data were collected through administration of an online survey. The sample consisted of 266 employees in a medical school, 69% women, with a mean age of 47 years. Logistic regression analysis demonstrated that workaholism was significantly associated with the presence of stress-related illness (odds ratio [OR] = 1.47, p = .009) and exercise with absence of stress-related illness (OR = 1.68, p = .003), even after controlling for age, family history, gender, income, and hours worked. The authors concluded that workaholism is a significant risk factor for stress-related illnesses and that physical exercise mitigates the negative effects of workaholism.
... In contrast with the prevailing perspective which considers workaholism as a compulsion or a stable individual characteristic, many scholars have conceptualized workaholism as a behavioral addiction with harmful consequences for individuals (Porter, 1996; Sussman, 2012; Wojdylo, Baumann, Buczny, Owens, & Kuhl, 2013), and have argued that the work environment may play a role in stimulating it (Burke, 2001; Fry & Cohen, 2009; Ng, Sorensen, & Feldman, 2007; van Wijhe, Schaufeli, & Peeters, 2010). Among the workrelated factors which could induce or reinforce workaholic behaviors scholars have indicated: incentive systems for higher productivity (Burke, 2001), a work culture strongly oriented to loyalty and results (Piotrowski & Vodanovich, 2006), high levels of organizational identification (Avanzi, van Dick, Fraccaroli, & Sarchielli, 2012), and the example of managers and supervisors who work hard as well as their reward for working excessively (van Wijhe et al., 2010). ...
The role of workaholism in the job demands-resources model
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The present study tries to gain more insight in workaholism by investigating its antecedents and consequences using the job demands-resources model. We hypothesized that job demands would be positively related to workaholism, particularly when job resources are low. In addition, we hypothesized that workaholism would be positively related to negative outcomes in three important life domains: health, family, and work. The research involved 617 Italian workers (employees and self-employed). To test the hypotheses we applied structural equation modeling (SEM) and moderated structural equation modeling (MSEM) using Mplus 6. The results of SEM showed a good model where workload, cognitive demands, emotional demands, and customer-related social stressors were positively related to workaholism and work-family conflict (partial mediation). Additionally, workaholism was indirectly related to exhaustion and intentions to change jobs through work-family conflict. Moreover, MSEM analyses confirmed that job resources (job security and opportunities for development) buffered the relationship between job demands and workaholism. Particularly, the interaction effects were statistically significant in five out of eight combinations. These findings suggest that workaholism is a function of a suboptimal work environment and predicts unfavorable employee outcomes. We discuss the theoretical and practical implications of these findings.
... The health problems consequently lead to lower work efficiency (Robinson, 2000) which represents losses for organizations employing workaholics (Chamberlin&Zhang, 2009). Negative impact of workaholism on organizations themselves has been found, such as various forms of destructive behaviors toward the organizations (Galperin & Burke, 2006) or dysfunctional relationships with colleagues (Porter, 2001; Vodanovich & Piotrowski, 2006).Therefore, understanding the relationship between workaholism and personality traits can help predicting the occurrence of workaholism, resulting in healthier lives of workers and also lower losses for organizations influenced by negative impacts of workaholism. ...
Personality traits and workaholism
Article
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  • Dec 2014
The paper focuses on understanding the relationship between workaholism and personality. The main goal was to examine the personality antecedents of workaholism, specifically the role of conscientiousness, neuroticism and perfectionism in workaholism. Workaholism is viewed as a three - dimensional phenomenon consisting of excessive involvement in work, compulsive need to work, and lack of satisfaction from work. Based on the multiple linear regressions, the authors constructed a model of relations between personality traits and workaholism. While neuroticism predicted overall workaholism (positive relationship), conscientiousness was positively related to all three workaholism components. Furthermore, perfectionism predicted feeling driven to work (positive relationship) and neuroticism was related to joy in work (negative relationship).The results underline the possibility of predicting workaholism from personality traits. Based on the findings, employers and study counselors can implement preventive measures in order to help employees and students to preserve their performance and avoid maladaptive patterns of work behaviour.
Impact factors on work-family balance: Initial support for Border Theory
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  • Sep 2006
In the modern world, juggling the demands of work and family is becoming increasingly difficult. Many organizations are interested in ways to help their employees maintain this balance and improve both life and job satisfaction. This study examined the impact of supportive communication and autonomy (central participation) on work-family balance and satisfaction based, in part, on Border Theory. Survey data were obtained from 95 employees of a biotechnology company. Results indicated that central participation was positively related to both job satisfaction and organizational commitment but not to life satisfaction. Supportive communication was associated with job satisfaction but not associated with life satisfaction. However, high levels of work-family conflict were found to be associated with lower levels of life satisfaction. Implications for maintaining work-family balance in the context of organization development consulting are discussed.
The relationship between workaholism and health: A report of negative findings
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  • Mar 2007
This paper presents empirical literature on the relationship between workaholism, health and stress indicators. Data from 773 working adults on workaholism and health were obtained as part of a larger study on Work-life factors. Correlational analyses did not find significant relationships between scores on the Work Addition Risk Test and health-related variables (myocardial infarction and high blood pressure). The need for directly assessing health symptoms and stress levels, rather than reliance on self-report data, is suggested.
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Marital Estrangement, Positive Affect, and Locus of Control Among Spouses of Workaholics and Spouses of Nonworkaholics: A National Study
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  • Oct 2001
This study compared a sample of spouses of workaholics and spouses of nonworkaholics on ratings of marital estrangement, positive feelings toward husband, and locus of control. A random national sample of 326 participants drawn from the membership list of the American Counseling Association was surveyed. Spouses of workaholics reported greater marital estrangement and less positive affect towards husbands and higher external locus of control than spouses of nonworkaholics. These findings were the first empirical results to corroborate clinical and case study reports. Clinical implications of these findings are also presented.