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The term ‘workaholism’ is widely used, but there is little consensus about its meaning, beyond that of its core element: a substantial investment in work. Following Snir and Zohar, workaholism was first defined in the present study as the individual’s steady and considerable allocation of time to work-related activities and thoughts, which does not derive from external necessities. Subsequently, it was measured as time invested in work, while controlling the financial needs for this investment. The relation between workaholism and possible attitudinal (meaning of work indices), demographic (gender, marital status), and situational (occupation type, employment sector) variables was examined through two representative samples of the Israeli labor force. The following predictor variables were significantly related to workaholism: work centrality, economic orientation, occupation type, employment sector and gender. From those variables, gender was found to be the strongest predictor - that is, men, in comparison with women, have a higher likelihood of being workaholics. Moreover, married women worked fewer hours per week than unmarried women, while married men worked more hours per week than unmarried men. The theoretical contribution of the above findings, and of the other study’s findings, to the understanding of workaholism is discussed.

Adopting an operational definition of workaholism as discretionary investment of considerable time at work, the purpose of the present study was to test hypotheses regarding the cognitive aspect of workaholism, as well as the positive and negative/addictive views of this construct. The study employed an experience-sampling method (ESM), using a sample of 65 full-time employees who completed the ESM forms at four random times during the day for one week. Results indicated that workaholism was associated with continued cognitive engagement with work, accompanied by a preference for work over leisure activity and higher positive affect during work activity than during leisure activity. No significant differences were found between workaholics and non-workaholics with regard to the likelihood of performing work-related activities during leisure activity, or in the levels of physical discomfort and negative affect during the weekend. These results highlight the utility of an operational framework for studying the variety of workaholism correlates. Theoretical and applied implications are discussed.A partir d'une définition opérationnelle de l'addiction au travail comme étant un investissement sans contrôle d'un temps considérable consacré au travail, cette recherche s'est donné comme objectif de mettre à l'épreuve des hypothèses relatives à la dimension cognitive de l'addiction au travail, ainsi que les aspects positifs et négatifs (addictifs) de ce concept. Cette recherche a exploité la méthode de l'échantillonnage des expériences (ESM) à partir d'un échantillon composé de 65 salariés à plein-temps qui ont rempli la feuille de recueil des données quatre fois par jour au hasard pendant une semaine. Les résultats ont montré que l'addiction au travail était liée à un engagement cognitif permanent vis-à-vis du travail, associé à une plus forte attirance pour le travail que pour les loisirs et à un état affectif plus fortement positif lors du travail qu'à l'occasion des activités de loisirs. On n'a pas trouvé de différences significatives entre les drogués du travail et les autres en ce qui concerne la probabilité de

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