Workaholism, work engagement, and affective commitment: relationships to self-concept levels and work outcomes
Marie-Colombe Afota1, Véronique Robert2, Christian Vandenberghe3
1Department of Industrial Relations, University of Montreal, Montréal, QC, Canada.
Frontiers in Psychology
|January 20, 2025
Summary
Heavy work investment has a dark side: workaholism increases work hours, overload, and depression. However, work engagement protects against depression and emotional exhaustion, highlighting its beneficial impact on employee well-being.
Area of Science:
- Organizational Psychology
- Occupational Health Psychology
- Business Management
Background:
- The rise of remote work and digital transformation blurs work-life boundaries, raising concerns about the impact of heavy work investment on individual health and well-being.
- Heavy work investment, encompassing various self-investment forms, presents both positive and negative consequences, necessitating further scholarly investigation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine the associations between workaholism, work engagement, and affective organizational commitment with individual, relational, and collective self-concepts.
- To investigate the contribution of these heavy work investment forms to changes in work hours, role overload, depression, and emotional exhaustion over time.
Main Methods:
- A three-wave longitudinal study with a four-month interval between measurements was conducted.
- The sample comprised 544 alumni from a French business school.
- Data were analyzed to explore relationships between heavy work investment, self-concept, and work-related outcomes.
Main Results:
- Workaholism correlated positively with individual and collective self-concepts, and predicted increases in work hours, role overload, and depression.
- Work engagement and affective organizational commitment were solely related to the collective self-concept.
- Work engagement demonstrated a protective effect against depression and emotional exhaustion, while affective commitment showed no significant impact on the studied outcomes.
Conclusions:
- Workaholism poses significant risks to employee well-being, increasing workload and mental health issues.
- Work engagement acts as a protective factor, mitigating risks of depression and emotional exhaustion.
- Understanding the differential impacts of various heavy work investment forms is crucial for developing targeted interventions to promote employee health and productivity.
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