'Workaholism' and Potential Outcomes in Well-Being and Health in a Cross-Occupational Sample

This study examined 'workaholism' components (work involvement, drive, enjoyment of work) and potential outcomes in terms of psychological well-being and health. A sample of 661 Norwegian cross-occupational employees from six different organizations completed an online questionnaire measuring 'workaholism', job satisfaction, life satisfaction, insomnia and subjective health complaints. A short version of the Norwegian-translated Workaholism Battery showed significant relationships with reports of psychological well-being and subjective health. Enjoyment of work was positively associated with job and life satisfaction and negatively associated with symptoms of poor health. Work involvement and drive were the strongest predictors of job dissatisfaction. Both were positively related to symptoms of poor health. Drive was, in addition, negatively associated with life satisfaction. The results showed that it is important to discriminate between different 'workaholic' features when investigating associations between 'workaholism' and potential outcomes, which were related in predictable ways to outcomes in terms of psychological well-being and health. Copyright (C) 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.