Exploring the Link between Work Addiction Risk and Health-Related Outcomes Using Job-Demand-Control Model

Abstract

Purpose of the study: Work addiction risk is a growing public health concern with potential deleterious health-related outcomes. Perception of work (job demands and job control) may play a major role in provoking the risk of work addiction in employees. We aimed to explore the link between work addiction risk and health-related outcomes using the framework of job-demand-control model. Methods: Data were collected from 187 out of 1580 (11.8%) French workers who agreed to participate in a cross-sectional study using the WittyFit software online platform. The self-administered questionnaires were the Job Content Questionnaire by Karasek, the Work Addiction Risk Test, the Hospital Anxiety and Depression scale and socio-demographics. Data Analysis: Statistical analyses were performed using the Stata software (version 13). Results: There were five times more workers with a high risk of work addiction among those with strong job demands than in those with low job demands (29.8% vs. 6.8%, p = 0.002). Addiction to work was not linked to job control (p = 0.77), nor with social support (p = 0.22). We demonstrated a high risk of work addiction in 2.6% of low-strain workers, in 15.0% of passive workers, in 28.9% of active workers, and in 33.3% of high-strain workers (p = 0.010). There were twice as many workers with a HAD-Depression score ≥11 compared with workers at low risk (41.5% vs. 17.7%, p = 0.009). Sleep quality was lower in workers with a high risk of work addiction compared with workers with a low risk of work addiction (44.0 ± 27.3 vs. 64.4 ± 26.8, p < 0.001). Workers with a high risk of work addiction exhibited greater stress at work (68.4 ± 23.2 vs. 47.5 ± 25.1) and lower well-being (69.7 ± 18.3 vs. 49.3 ± 23.0) compared with workers at low risk (p < 0.001). Conclusions: High job demands are strongly associated with the risk of work addiction. Work addiction risk is associated with greater depression and poor quality of sleep. Preventive strategies should benefit from identifying more vulnerable workers to work addiction risk.

Engaged or Obsessed? Examining the Relationship between Work Engagement, Workaholism and Work-Related Health via Work- Home Interaction

“…A recent study suggests that academics working at Norwegian universities experience high levels of workaholism as compared to professionals in different occupations in the Netherlands, and significantly higher levels of workaholism and work-family conflict than their technical and administrative personnel colleagues (Torp, Lysfjord, & Midje, 2018). This is consistent with Dutheil et al's (2020) study who found the prevalence of work addiction risk to be greater among highly skilled occupations with high demands-"active" and "high strain" workers-and in occupations with high levels of decision latitude like academics.…”

Protocol of the Study on Emergency Health Care Workers’ Responses Evaluated by Karasek Questionnaire: The SEEK-Study Protocol

“…A score below 24 reflects low social support [ 22 ]. In a previous study performed by our team, the Cronbach’s alphas for job demands, job control, and social support were 0.58, 0.99, and 0.99, respectively [ 49 ].…”

“…The generally admitted pathological thresholds score is 8. In a previous study performed by our team in a similar population, the Cronbach’s alphas for the components of depression and anxiety were 0.82 and 0.79, respectively [ 49 ].…”

Advancing Workaholism Research

“…Among the different working conditions, workload—as a chronic feature of the job—has received the most attention as a potential antecedent of workaholism. Different studies of the Special Issue further document the role of workload either as a potential main factor in workaholism [ 19 , 24 ] or as a factor interacting with personality traits [ 25 ].…”

“…Finally, three different studies of the Special Issue further highlight the negative outcomes associated with workaholism by examining employee turnover [ 26 ], depression and poor sleep quality [ 24 ], and behavioral and emotional problems in children of workaholic parents [ 27 ]. On the contrary, the study by Li et al [ 28 ] found that workaholism attenuated the negative relationship between work intensification and well-being.…”