Workaholism, work and extra‐work satisfactions and psychological well‐being among professors in Turkey

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine potential antecedents of workaholism components identified in previous research and the relationship of these components to work and extra‐work satisfactions and psychological well‐being among professors in Turkey. It attempts to replicate previous research conducted in North America. Design/methodology/approach Data were collected from 406 professors using a web‐based questionnaire. Three workaholism components were considered: work involvement, feeling driven to work because of inner needs, and work enjoyment. Findings It was found that the three workaholism components were unrelated to three blocks of antecedent predictor variables. Both feeling driven to work and work enjoyment generally predicted validating job behaviors while work enjoyment predicted work and extra‐work satisfactions and psychological well‐being. These findings provide a partial replication of previous North American results, suggesting the need to consider both country and cultural factors in future workaholism research. Research limitations/implications All data were collected using self‐report questionnaires, raising the possibility of response set tendencies. In addition, all data were collected at one point in time, making it difficult to determine causality. Practical implications Work enjoyment emerged as a strong and consistent predictor of most work and well‐being outcomes. Organizations are encouraged to increase satisfaction levels in efforts to attain productive and healthy people. Originality/value This paper replicates previous workaholism research carried out in North America in Turkey, a secular Muslim country. The importance of considering country culture and values is highlighted.