The workaholism phenomenon: a cross‐national perspective

Abstract

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the workaholism phenomenon.Design/methodology/approachWorkaholism was defined as the individual's steady and considerable allocation of time to work, which is not derived from external necessities. Subsequently, it was measured as time invested in paid work, controlling for the financial needs for such an investment. Workaholism is examined from a cross‐national perspective through representative samples of the labor force in Belgium, Israel, Japan, The Netherlands, and the USAFindingsThe Japanese worked more hours per week than all other nationalities. The following findings have remained stable across nations: respondents with a high level of work centrality worked more hours per week than did those with a low level of work centrality. Men worked more hours per week than women. Married women worked fewer hours per week than unmarried women, while married men worked more hours per week than unmarried men. Private‐sector employees worked more hours per week than public‐sector employees.Research limitations/implicationsThe cross‐national comparisons are based on aggregated self‐reported data obtained from individuals. However, the present study makes three major contributions: applying a non‐biased definition of workaholism, indicating that the existing conceptualizations of workaholism as an attitude have underestimated the importance of sex‐roles in shaping work patterns and behaviors, and findings of similarities as well as of differences across nations on the phenomenon of workaholism.Practical implicationsDeveloping awareness of cultural variations concerning workaholism.Originality/valueThis is perhaps the only empirical study so far making a cross‐national comparison of workaholism, which also has high external validity.

The Relationship of Psychological Hardiness with Work Holism

“…It seems that they try to not serve the life events as boring and threatening and they usually try to make a dynamic life based on the exalted goal for themselves and their families. One other result was the difference between male and female as the rate of work holism in females was more than males that is not consistent (Snir and Harpaz;2006). To confirm this, some believe that men are more involve in the internal elements, while women are more involve in the external elements of life events.…”

“…However, there have been a few internal and external researches in this area and the author points to some researches in which two concepts of hardiness and addiction are presented as it was specified that work holism itself is a subconcept of addiction in its general form. Snir and Harpaz (2006) suggested that the probability of men works holism is more than women. Mohammad talebi (2008) in has study show the relationship between the organizational culture and work holism, Asgari, Mostafa (2002) has studied the relationship between hardiness and attachment style with the preparation for addiction that he obtained a negative and significant correlation between the hardiness and attachment with International Letters of Social and Humanistic Sciences Vol.…”

Beyond workaholism: Towards a general model of heavy work investment

“…For example, in a cross-national study workaholism was found to be primarily a male phenomenon (Snir & Harpaz, 2006). Wharton and Blair-Loy (2002) state that employed women in the industrialized world continue to bear more responsibility for family and children than do their male counterparts so they are more often considered candidates for a part-time work.…”

Perfectionism in Employees: Work Engagement, Workaholism, and Burnout

“…Furthermore, workaholism was associated with low levels of emotional well-being and high levels of psychological distress. In addition, workaholism was associated with high levels of psychosomatic symptoms and physical health complaints which have been linked to workaholics' not getting enough leisure time, physical exercise, and sleep (see also Burke, 2000;Ng, Sorensen, & Feldman, 2007;Robinson, 2000;Snir & Harpaz, 2006). Consequently, workaholism is not a positive characteristic indicating a healthy passion and enthusiasm for one's work, but an unhealthy characteristic that can have ruinous consequences for an individual's emotional, social, and physical well-being.…”