The Workaholism-Technostress Interplay: Initial Evidence on Their Mutual Relationship

Area of Science:

• Occupational Psychology
• Digital Well-being
• Organizational Behavior

Background:

• The COVID-19 pandemic created extreme working conditions, increasing workaholism and technostress.
• Existing literature suggests an interplay between workaholism and technostress, but the causal direction is unclear.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the directional relationship between workaholism and technostress among Italian employees during the pandemic.
• To provide empirical evidence on how workaholism influences technostress over time.

Main Methods:

• A two-wave cross-lagged study design was employed.
• Path analysis within Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) was used for data analysis.
• 113 Italian employees completed online surveys at two time points.

Main Results:

• Workaholism at Time 1 was a significant predictor of technostress at Time 2 (β = 0.25, p = 0.049).
• The reverse relationship, where technostress predicted workaholism, was not statistically significant (β = 0.08, p = 0.22).

Conclusions:

• Findings suggest that workaholism can lead to increased technostress.
• This research aids in developing strategies for organizations and employees to manage compulsive work behaviors and promote balanced technology use.