All Work and No Play? A Meta-Analytic Examination of the Correlates and Outcomes of Workaholism

TLDR

Empirical research on workaholism has been hampered by a lack of consensus regarding its definition and measurement. The study aims to review prior conceptualizations of workaholism to identify a definition and to conduct a meta‑analysis of its correlates and outcomes to clarify its nomological network. The authors performed a systematic review of existing definitions and a meta‑analysis of studies examining workaholism’s correlates and outcomes. The meta‑analysis revealed that workaholism is linked to achievement‑oriented traits, shows mixed associations with affective variables, is largely unrelated to many dispositional and demographic factors, and predicts negative outcomes such as burnout, job stress, work–life conflict, and poorer physical and mental health, supporting its conceptualization as a work addiction.

Abstract

Empirical research on workaholism has been hampered by a lack of consensus regarding the definition and appropriate measurement of the construct. In the present study, we first review prior conceptualizations of workaholism in an effort to identify a definition of workaholism. Then, we conduct a meta-analysis of the correlates and outcomes of workaholism to clarify its nomological network. Results indicate that workaholism is related to achievement-oriented personality traits (i.e., perfectionism, Type A personality), but is generally unrelated to many other dispositional (e.g., conscientiousness, self-esteem, positive affect) and demographic (e.g., gender, parental status, marital status) variables. Findings are mixed regarding the relationship between workaholism and affectively laden variables, which speaks to the complex nature of workaholism. Results also show that workaholism is related to many negative outcomes, such as burnout, job stress, work–life conflict, and decreased physical and mental health. Overall, results provide solid evidence that workaholism is best conceptualized as an addiction to work that leads to many negative individual, interpersonal, and organizational outcomes.