The Relationship Between Psychosocial Work Variables and Workaholism: Findings From a Nationally Representative Survey

Research into “workaholism” has substantially increased over the last decade, but little effort has been put into assessing work-related correlates. In the present study, 1,608 employees (Mage = 45.2 years, range = 21–60) participated in a nationally representative cross-sectional survey in Norway examining whether job demands, job control, role ambiguity, role conflict, exposure to negative acts, and leadership styles could explain variance in workaholism. The independent variables explained 28% of the variance. Demands, role conflict, and negative acts contributed substantially. Workaholism increased more strongly with increasing demands for workers reporting high control than for those reporting low control. The prevalence of workaholism was 7.3%. Study implications, strengths, and limitations are discussed.