ORIGINAL PAPER
The role of a tool in measuring negative consequences of workaholism
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Uniwersytet Łódzki / University of Łódź, Łódź, Poland (Wydział Nauk o Wychowaniu, Instytut Psychologii, Zakład Psychologii Zdrowia / Faculty of Educational Sciences, Institute of Psychology, Department of Health Psychology)
2
Uniwersytet Łódzki / University of Łódź, Łódź, Poland (Wydział Nauk o Wychowaniu, Instytut Psychologii, Zakład Psychologii Pracy i Doradztwa Zawodowego / Faculty of Educational Sciences, Institute of Psychology, Department of Occupational and Counseling Psychology)
Corresponding author
Jan Chodkiewicz
Uniwersytet Łódzki, Wydział Nauk o Wychowaniu,
Instytut Psychologii, Zakład Psychologii Zdrowia, ul. Smugowa 10/12, 91-433 Łódź
Med Pr Work Health Saf. 2016;67(4):467-76
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ABSTRACT
Background: Analyzes of negative consequences of workaholism are ambiguous, and various studies have been conducted with
different measurement tools. Thus, the objective of the current research was to find the answer to the question about relationships
between workaholism measured with varied tools and mental health, stress experienced in life and at work, negative affect, and
work–family conflicts. Material and Methods: The study was conducted in a group of 178 subjects (71 men, 107 women, aged 23–66),
with a minimum work experience of 4 years. To measure workaholism 4 different research tools, based on different conceptualization
of this construct, were used: Workaholism Battery (Work-Bat) by Spence and Robbins, Work Addiction Risk Test (WART)
by Robinson, Scale of Workaholism as Behavioral Tendencies (SWBT) by Mudrack and Naughton, and The Scale of Being Absorbed
by Work (SZAP) by Golińska. To measure possible consequences of workaholism the following tools were employed: General
Health Questionnaire-28 (GHQ-28) by Goldberg, Scale of Work–Family/Family–Work Conflict (WFC/FWC) by Netemeyer et al.,
Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) by Cohen et al., Brief Scale of Vocational Stress (BSVS) by Stanton et al. and Mood Scale by Wojciszke
and Baryła. Results: The strongest relationships between workaholism and its negative consequences for the functioning of the unit
can be observed using 2 diagnostic methods, respectively: WART and SZAP adapted by Golińska. Other diagnostic tools (Work-Bat
and SWBT) have insignificant relationships with possible negative consequences of workaholism. Conclusions: The applied method
of measuring workaholism seems to be of great importance in predicting possible consequences-different conceptualizations of phenomena
leading to different results, which is important for researchers and practitioners involved in the issue of workaholism. There is
a need for further work on the conceptualization and operationalization of the workaholism phenomenon. Med Pr 2016;67(4):467–476