The term ‘workaholism’ is widely used, but there is little consensus about its meaning, beyond that of its core element: a substantial investment in work. Following Snir and Zohar, workaholism was first defined in the present study as the individual’s steady and considerable allocation of time to work-related activities and thoughts, which does not derive from external necessities. Subsequently, it was measured as time invested in work, while controlling the financial needs for this investment. The relation between workaholism and possible attitudinal (meaning of work indices), demographic (gender, marital status), and situational (occupation type, employment sector) variables was examined through two representative samples of the Israeli labor force. The following predictor variables were significantly related to workaholism: work centrality, economic orientation, occupation type, employment sector and gender. From those variables, gender was found to be the strongest predictor - that is, men, in comparison with women, have a higher likelihood of being workaholics. Moreover, married women worked fewer hours per week than unmarried women, while married men worked more hours per week than unmarried men. The theoretical contribution of the above findings, and of the other study’s findings, to the understanding of workaholism is discussed.
Abbas, A.J. , Falcone, T. & Azim, A.A.Work ethic in the USA and Canada. The Journal of Management Development, 1995, 14, 26-35.
2.
Baber, K.M. & Monaghan, P.College women’s career and motherhood expectations: New options, old dilemmas. Sex Roles, 1988, 19, 189-203.
3.
Battle, J.Self esteem: The new revolution. Edmonton, Canada: James Battle, 1990.
4.
Bem, D.J.Self-perception theory. In L. Berkowitz (Ed.), Advances in experimental social psychology, vol. 6. New York: Academic Press, 1972.
5.
Bernard, J.The good-provider role: Its rise and fall . American Psychologist, 1981, 36, 1-12.
6.
Borman, W.C. , Hanson, M.A. & Hedge, J.W.Personnel selection. Annual Review of Psychology, 1997, 48, 299-337.
7.
Brief, A. & Nord, W.Work and meaning: Definitions and interpretations. In A. Brief & W. Nord (Eds), The meaning of occupational work. Lexington, MA: Lexington Press, 1990.
8.
Burke, R.J.Workaholism in organizations: Gender differences . Sex Roles, 1999a, 41(5/6), 333-345.
9.
Burke, R.J.Workaholism in organizations: Measurement validation and replication . International Journal of Stress Management, 1999b, 6(1), 45-55.
10.
Burke, R.J.It’s not how hard you work but how you work hard: Evaluating workaholism components . International Journal of Stress Management, 1999c, 6(4), 225-239.
Carroll, J.D. & Chang, J.J.Analysis of individual differences in multidimensional scaling via an N-way generalization of the ‘Eckart-Young’ decomposition. Psychometrika, 1970, 35, 283-319.
13.
Cherrington, D.J.The work ethic. New York: American Management Association, 1980.
14.
Cooney, T.M. & Uhlenberg, P.Changes in work-family connections among highly educated men and women, 1970 to 1980. Journal of Family Issues, 1991, 12, 69-90.
15.
Deci, E.L. & Ryan, R.M.Intrinsic motivation and self determination in human behavior. New York: Plenum, 1985.
16.
Doerfler, M.C. & Kammer, P.P.Workaholism, sex and sex role stereotyping among female professionals. Sex Roles, 1986, 14, 551-560.
17.
Dubin, R. , Champoux, J.E. & Porter, L.W.Central life interests and organizational commitment of blue collar and clerical workers. Administrative Science Quarterly, 1975, 20, 411-421.
18.
Dubin, R. , Hedley, R.A. & Taveggia, T.C.Attachment to work. In R. Dubin (Ed.), Handbook of work, organization and society. Chicago, IL: Rand McNally, 1976, pp. 281-341.
19.
Duxbury, L. & Higgins, C.Interference between work and family: A status report on dualcareer and dual-earner mothers and fathers. Employee Assistance Quarterly, 1994, 9(3/4), 55-80.
20.
Dyer, L. & Parker, D.F.Classifying outcomes in work motivation research: An examination of the intrinsic-extrinsic dichotomy. Journal of Applied Psychology, 1975, 60, 455-458.
21.
Efroni, L.Women in the civil service: Comparative analysis of the years 1988 versus 1978. Jerusalem: The Training and Education Unit, Civil Service Commission (in Hebrew), 1988.
22.
England, G.W.The meaning of working in the USA: Recent changes . European Work and Organizational Psychologist, 1991, 1, 111-124.
23.
England, G.W. & Harpaz, I.How working is defined: National contexts and demographic and organizational role influences. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 1990, 11, 253-266.
24.
England, G.W. & Misumi, J.Work centrality in Japan and the United States. Journal of Cross Cultural Psychology, 1986, 17, 399-416.
25.
Etaugh, C. & Folger, D.Perceptions of parents whose work and parenting behaviors deviate from role expectations. Sex Roles, 1998, 39(3-4), 215-223.
26.
Fassel, D.Working ourselves to death: The high costs of workaholism, the rewards of recovery. San Francisco, CA: HarperCollins, 1990.
27.
Furnham, A. & Argyle, M.The psychology of money. London: Routledge, 1998.
28.
Garfield, C.A.Peak performers: The new heroes of American business. New York: William Morrow, 1987.
29.
George, J.M. & Brief, A.P.The economic instrumentality of work: An examination of the moderating effects of financial requirements and sex on the pay-life satisfaction relationship. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 1990, 37, 357-368.
30.
Ghiselli, E.E. , Campbell, J.P. & Zedeck, S.Measurement theory for the behavioral sciences. San Francisco: Freeman, 1981.
31.
Harding, S.H. & Hikspoors, F.J.New work values: In theory and in practice. International Social Science Journal, 1995, 47, 441-455.
32.
Harpaz, I.Variables affecting non-financial employment commitment . Applied Psychology: An International Review, 1988, 37, 235-248.
33.
Harpaz, I.The meaning of work in Israel: Its nature and consequences. New York: Praeger, 1990.
34.
Harpaz, I.Final scientific report on: Stability and change in the meaning of work in Israel: A comparison of the labor forces in 1981 and 1993 and longitudinal analysis. Haifa: University of Haifa, 1995.
35.
Harpaz, I.The transformation of work values in Israel: Stability and change over time . Monthly Labor Review, 1999, 122, 46-50.
36.
Harpaz, I. & Fu, X.Work centrality in Germany, Israel, Japan, and the United States. Cross Cultural Research, 1997, 31, 171-200.
37.
Hays, W.L.Statistics, 5th edn.New York: Harcourt Brace College Publishers, 1994.
38.
Haywood, L. , Kew, F., Bramham, P., Spink, J., Capenerhurst, J. & Henry, I.Understanding leisure. London: Hutchinson, 1989.
39.
Higgins, C. , Duxbury, L. & Lee, C.Balancing work and family: A study of the Canadian private sector. London, Canada: National Center for Research, Management and Development, University of Western Ontario, 1993.
40.
Hochschild, A.The second shift. New York: Viking, 1989.
41.
Izraeli, D.Women, work family, and public policy. In A. Globerson, A. Galin & E. Rozenshtein (Eds), Human resources and labor relations in Israel. New horizons. Tel Aviv: Ramot (in Hebrew), 1990, pp. 327-343.
42.
Kanungo, R.N.Work alienation: An integration approach. New York: Praeger, 1982.
Lawler, E.E.Pay and organizational effectiveness: A psychological view. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1971.
55.
Lawler, E.E.Motivation in work organizations. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1994.
56.
Lipset, S.M.The work ethic, then and now . Journal of Labor Research, 1992, 13, 45-55.
57.
Lodahl, T.M. & Keiner, M.The definition and measurement of job involvement. Journal of Applied Psychology, 1965, 49, 23-33.
58.
London, M.Toward a theory of career motivation . Academy of Management Review, 1983, 8, 620-630.
59.
McAdams, D.P.Personal needs and personal relationships. In S. Duck (Ed.), Handbook of personal relationships. Chichester: Wiley, 1988, pp. 7-22.
60.
McClelland, D.C.Human motivation. New York: Scott Freeman, 1985.
61.
Machlowitz, M.Workaholics. Living with them, working with them. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley, 1980.
62.
Mannheim, B.Gender and the effects of demographics status and work values on work centrality . Work and Occupations, 1993, 20, 3-22.
63.
Maor, M.Women’s advancement in the civil service, 1997-2000: A policy implementation approach . Paper presented at the 34th World Congress of the International Institute of Sociology, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel, 1999.
64.
Morrow, P.C.Concept redundancy in organizational research: The case of work commitment . Academy of Management Review, 1983, 3, 486-500.
65.
Mosier, S.K. Workaholics: An analysis of their stress, success and priorities. Unpublished MA thesis, University of Texas at Austin, 1983.
66.
MOW- International Research Team. The meaning of work: An international view. London: Academic Press, 1987.
67.
Naughton, T.J.A conceptual view of workaholism and implications for career counseling and research . Career Development Quarterly, 1987, 6, 180-187.
68.
Nock, S.Marriage in men’s lives. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1998.
Oates, W.Confessions of a workaholic: The facts about work addiction. New York: World Publishing, 1971.
71.
Osigweh, C.A.B.Concept fallibility in organizational science . Academy of Management Review, 1989, 14, 579-594.
72.
Pinder, C.C.Work motivation in organizational behavior. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1998.
73.
Pittman, J.F. & Orthner, D.K.Gender differences in the prediction of job commitment. Journal of Social Behavior and Personality, 1988, 3, 227-248.
74.
Porter, G.Organizational impact of workaholism: Suggestions for researching the negative outcomes of excessive work . Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 1996, 1, 70-84.
75.
Porter, G.Workaholic tendencies and the high potential for stress among co-workers . International Journal of Stress Management, 2001, 8(2), 147-164.
76.
Robinson, B.E.Work addiction. Deerfield Beach, FL: Health Communications, 1989.
77.
Robinson, B.E.Work addiction: Implications for EAP counseling and research . Employee Assistance Quarterly, 1997, 12(4), 1-13.
78.
Robinson, B.E. & Post, P.Work addiction as a function of family of origin and its influence on current family functioning. The Family Journal, 1995, 3, 200-206.
79.
Robinson, B.E. & Post, P.Risk of work addiction to family functioning. Psychological Reports, 1997, 81, 91-95.
Ruiz-Quintanilla, S.A. & Wilpert, B.Are work meanings changing?European Work and Organizational Psychologist, 1991, 1, 91-109.
82.
SAS The MDS procedure. In SAS technical report P-229, SAS/STAT software changes and enhancements, release 6.07. Cary, NC: SAS Institute, 1992, pp. 249-286.
Schneider, B.The people make the place . Personnel Psychology, 1987, 40, 437-453.
85.
Schneider, B. , Goldstein, H.W. & Smith, D.B.The ASA framework: An update. Personnel Psychology, 1995, 48, 747-773.
86.
Scott, K.S. , Moore, K.S. & Miceli, M.P.An exploration of the meaning and consequences of workaholism. Human Relations, 1997, 50(3), 287-314.
87.
Seybold, K.C. and Salomone, P.R.Understanding workaholism: A review of causes and counseling approaches. Journal of Counseling and Development, 1994, 73, 4-10.
88.
Snir, R. Workaholism: Description, definition, measurement, and validation. PhD dissertation, The Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel (in Hebrew), 1998.
89.
Snir, R. & Zohar, D.Workaholism: Work-addiction or workphilia? Paper presented at the International Conference on Psychology - Psychology after the year 2000, University of Haifa, Israel, 2000.
90.
Spence, J.T. & Robbins, A.S.Workaholism: Definition, measurement, and preliminary results. Journal of Personality Assessment, 1992, 58(1), 160-178.
Statistical abstracts of Israel. Jerusalem: Government Publications, 1995.
93.
Tang, T. L.The meaning of money revisited . Journal of Organizational Behavior, 1992, 13, 197-202.
94.
Tennesen, M.HR faces distinct issues in rural areas . Personnel Journal, 1994, 73, 112-120.
95.
Thomas, K.W. , Jansen, E. & Tymon, W.G.Navigating in the realm of theory: An empowering view of construct development. In W.A. Pasmore & R.W. Woodman (Eds), Research in organizational change and development, vol. 10. Greenwich, CT: JAI Press, 1997.
96.
Vecchio, R.P.The function and meaning of work and the job: Morse and Weiss (1955) revisited . Academy of Management Journal, 1980, 23, 361-367.
97.
Vroom, V.H.Industrial social psychology. In G. Lindzey & E. Aronson (Eds), The handbook of social psychology, 2nd edn, 1962, pp. 196-268.
