The Individual “Costs” of Workaholism: An Analysis Based on Multisource and Prospective Data

Abstract

We conducted two studies on workaholism to address three identified gaps in the literature, namely, the job-related affective experiences of workaholics, the relationship between workaholism and job demands, and the long-term mental health effects of workaholism. We also examined gender as a moderator of the relationship between workaholism and its outcomes. In Study 1 (N = 311), focused on a heterogeneous sample of workers, we found that workaholism was positively related to the experience of observer-reported, as well as self-reported, job-related negative affect and that this relationship was stronger among female workers. Furthermore, in a subsample of participants (n = 189) for whom we had available blood pressure data, we found that workaholism was positively related to systolic blood pressure. In Study 2 (N = 235), based on a sample of health-sector employees in which we adopted a full, two-wave panel design including workaholism, job demands, and mental distress, we found that the baseline levels of job demands impacted the follow-up levels of workaholism, while the reverse was not the case. We also found that the baseline levels of workaholism positively affected the levels of mental distress reported after 1 year. These results add to the existing literature on the job-related affective correlates and psychophysical costs of workaholism and shed further light on work environmental factors that may contribute to its genesis.