Workaholism and the Enactment of Bullying Behavior at Work: A Prospective Analysis

Abstract

Despite the fact that workaholism and workplace aggressive behavior share many correlates, such as neuroticism, hostility, and negative affectivity, little is known about their relationship, with most evidence on both phenomena coming from cross-sectional studies. In the present study, we contributed to a better understanding of the antecedents of enacted workplace bullying behavior (i.e., perpetration of bullying), and the potential interpersonal implications of workaholism, by investigating their cross-lagged relationship. Data from a two-wave one-year panel study conducted with 235 employees in a national healthcare service organization showed substantial cross-sectional and cross-lagged positive relationships between workaholism and enacted workplace bullying. Whereas Time 1 workaholism was a significant predictor of Time 2 enacted workplace bullying, reversed causation was not supported. To shed light on the role of a potential mechanism explaining the link between workaholism and enactment of bullying, we examined whether job-related negative affect (e.g., anger) mediated their longitudinal relationship. However, whereas increased negative affect from T1 to T2 was positively associated with T2 enacted workplace bullying, the relationship between T1 workaholism and increased job-related negative affect was not significant, contrary to the hypothesized mediation. Taken together, our findings suggest that workaholism may be an important antecedent of enacted workplace bullying. Study limitations and future perspectives are discussed.

Workplace Bullying and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Symptomology: The Influence of Role Conflict and the Moderating Effects of Neuroticism and Managerial Competencies

“…Indeed, similar studies investigating workplace bullying from the passive perspective have found other work environment stressors, such as job demands, that positively relate to bullying victimization [ 48 ]. Furthermore, studies exploring workplace bullying from the active perspective have also found that work environment factors such as organizational justice, organizational trust, and workaholism are also related to bullying perpetration [ 49 , 50 ]. As this study has found that managerial competencies, which alter and improve the interaction of employees with their work environment, moderate employee stress from poor working environments, managerial competencies may not just decrease the frequency of employees being bullied but may also decrease the frequency of which employees bully.…”

Understanding Work Addiction in Adult Children: The Effect of Addicted Parents and Work Motivation

“…The first limitation is related to the existing contradictions in the conceptualization and interpretation of the focal phenomenon of our study (i.e., work addiction). Although it is generally considered as a genuine addiction [ 7 , 53 ], in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders [ 54 ] it has not been formally defined as such yet. Probably one of the most significant reasons for this is the lack of clarity among different forms of excessive work [ 31 ].…”

“…Such over-commitment to work has been used in literature to describe the notion of “work addiction”. According to the authors [ 7 ], the underlying aspect of this phenomenon is a persistent psychological dysfunction. It is, therefore, not surprising that researchers think of work addiction as a negative entity.…”

Motivational background of work addiction: the role of perceived demanding organizational conditions

“…Findings have supported a negative view of work addiction, documenting its relationships with poor well-being (Shimazu et al, 2015), anxiety, depression (Serrano-Fern andez et al, 2021), burnout (Sun et al, 2022), elevated blood pressure (Balducci et al, 2021), sleep problems and the risk of cardiovascular disease (Salanova et al, 2016). Additionally, the notion that work addicts may perform better than their colleagues has been strongly questioned, since the former are characterized by aspects not helpful in performing the job (Balducci et al, 2022). All this implies little advantage of being addicted not only to individuals themselves but also to organizations.…”

“…, 2016). Additionally, the notion that work addicts may perform better than their colleagues has been strongly questioned, since the former are characterized by aspects not helpful in performing the job (Balducci et al. , 2022).…”