Organizing the Confusion Surrounding Workaholism: New Structure, Measure, and Validation

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Organizational Behavior

Background:

• Workaholism has been extensively studied for over 40 years, resulting in diverse definitions and measures.
• A lack of consensus on workaholism's core components hinders integrated understanding.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a unified theoretical definitional framework for workaholism using Facet Theory.
• To create and validate a new questionnaire based on this framework.
• To compare the new measure with existing workaholism assessments.

Main Methods:

• Two-phase study employing Facet Theory Approach.
• Phase 1: Validation of a new workaholism questionnaire in an Israeli sample using Factor Analysis (FA) and Smallest Space Analysis (SSA).
• Phase 2: Replication of findings and comparison with existing measures in a Romanian sample.

Main Results:

• The study successfully formulated a definitional framework with hypothesized facets: modalities (cognitive, emotional, instrumental) and resources (time, effort).
• The newly devised questionnaire demonstrated validity and reliability in both Israeli and Romanian samples.
• The new measure showed distinctiveness when compared to other workaholism instruments.

Conclusions:

• The proposed framework offers a more integrated conceptualization of workaholism.
• The new questionnaire provides a reliable and valid tool for assessing workaholism constructs.
• Further research is recommended to explore theoretical implications and refine the measurement of workaholism.