HOW DO WORKAHOLICS EXPERIENCE WORKING?1

HOW DO WORKAHOLICS EXPERIENCE WORKING?1

This exploratory study examined the relationships of workaholism components identified by Spence and Robbins (1992) and the experience of flow or optimal experience among 211 journalists in Norway. Data were collected using anonymous questionnaires. Three workaholism components were considered: work involvement, feeling driven to work because of inner needs, and work enjoyment. Hierarchical regression analyses, controlling for personal demographics and work situation characteristics, found that journalists scoring higher on work enjoyment and lower on feeling driven to work indicated higher levels of flow or optimal experience at work.

___

  • Burke, R.J., (1999a) Workaholism in organizations: The role of personal beliefs and fears. Anxiety, Stress and Coping, 13, 1-12.
  • Burke, R.J. (1999b) Workaholism in organizations. Measurement validation and replication. International Journal of Stress Management, 6, 45-55.
  • Burke, R.J. (2000) Workaholism in organizations: Concepts, results and future directions. International Journal of Management Reviews, 2, 1-16.
  • Burke, R.J. (2001) Workaholism components, job satisfaction, and career progress. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 31, 2339-2356.
  • Clawson, J.G. (1999) Level three leadership: Getting below the surface. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
  • Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1990) Flow: The psychology of optimal experience. New York: Harper Collings.
  • Csikszentmihalyi, M. (2003) Good business New York: Viking
  • Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1997) Finding flow: The psychology of engagement with everyday life. New York: Basic Books.
  • Fassel, D. (1990) Working ourselves to death: The high costs of workaholism, the rewards of recovery. San Francisco, CA: Harper Collins.
  • Jackson, S.A. & Marsh, H.W. (1996) Development and validation of a scale to measure optimal experience: The Flow State Scale. Journal of Sport & Exercise Psychology, 18, 17-35.
  • Jackson, S.A. (1995) Factors influencing the occurrence of flow state in elite athletes. Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, 7, 138-166.
  • Killinger, B. (1991) Workaholics: The respectable addicts. New York: Simon & Schuster.
  • McMillan, L.H.W., O’Driscoll, M.P. & Burke, R.J. (2003) Workaholism: A review of theory, research and new directions in C.L. Cooper & I.T. Robertson (eds.) International Review of Industrial and Organizational Psychology, New York: John Wiley, pp. 167-190.
  • Naughton, T.J. (1987) A conceptual view of workaholism and implications for career counseling and research. The Career Development Quarterly, 14, 180-187.
  • Oates, W. (1971) Confessions of a workaholic: The facts about work addiction. New York: World.
  • Porter, G. (1996) Organizational impact of workaholism: Suggestions for researching the negative outcomes of excessive work. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 1, 70-84.
  • Robinson, B.E. (1998) Chained to the desk: A guidebook for workaholics, their partners and children and the clinicians who treat them. New York: NYU Press.
  • Scott, K.S., Moore, K.S., & Miceli, M.P. (1997) An exploration of the meaning and consequences of workaholism. Human Relations, 50, 287-314.
  • Seligman, M.E.P. & Czikszentmihalyi, M. (2000) Positive psychology: An introduction. American Psychologist, 55, 56-57.
  • Spence, J.T. & Robbins, A.S. (1992) Workaholism: Definition, measurement,
  • and preliminary results. Journal of Personality Assessment, 58, 160-178