Workaholism as Discretionary Time Investment at Work: An Experience‐Sampling Study

Adopting an operational definition of workaholism as discretionary investment of considerable time at work, the purpose of the present study was to test hypotheses regarding the cognitive aspect of workaholism, as well as the positive and negative/addictive views of this construct. The study employed an experience-sampling method (ESM), using a sample of 65 full-time employees who completed the ESM forms at four random times during the day for one week. Results indicated that workaholism was associated with continued cognitive engagement with work, accompanied by a preference for work over leisure activity and higher positive affect during work activity than during leisure activity. No significant differences were found between workaholics and non-workaholics with regard to the likelihood of performing work-related activities during leisure activity, or in the levels of physical discomfort and negative affect during the weekend. These results highlight the utility of an operational framework for studying the variety of workaholism correlates. Theoretical and applied implications are discussed. A partir d’une definition operationnelle de l’addiction au travail comme etant un investissement sans controle d’un temps considerable consacre au travail, cette recherche s’est donne comme objectif de mettre a l’epreuve des hypotheses relatives a la dimension cognitive de l’addiction au travail, ainsi que les aspects positifs et negatifs (addictifs) de ce concept. Cette recherche a exploite la methode de l’echantillonnage des experiences (ESM) a partir d’un echantillon compose de 65 salaries a plein-temps qui ont rempli la feuille de recueil des donnees quatre fois par jour au hasard pendant une semaine. Les resultats ont montre que l’addiction au travail etait liee a un engagement cognitif permanent vis-a-vis du travail, associea une plus forte attirance pour le travail que pour les loisirs et a un etat affectif plus fortement positif lors du travail qu’a l’occasion des activites de loisirs. On n’a pas trouve de differences significatives entre les drogues du travail et les autres en ce qui concerne la probabilite de realiser des activites relevant du travail pendant les loisirs, ou dans le niveau d’inconfort physique et le poids des affects negatifs pendant le week-end. Ces resultats montrent l’utilite d’un schema operationnel dans l’etude de la diversite des phenomenes relies a l’addiction au travail. Les implications theoriques et pratiques sont examinees.

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