Workaholism and Subjective Well-being: Examining a Mediation Model

Jun Zhang; Chen Song; Yuxuan Lan

doi:doi:10.11648/j.jhrm.201200801.15

| Peer-Reviewed

Workaholism and Subjective Well-being: Examining a Mediation Model

Jun Zhang, Chen Song, Yuxuan Lan

Published in Journal of Human Resource Management (Volume 8, Issue 1)

Received: 19 December 2019 Accepted: 27 January 2020 Published: 10 February 2020

Views: Downloads:

Download PDF

Share This Article

Twitter
Linked In
Facebook

Abstract

With the popularization of the new ways of working (such as flexible work schedule and telecommuting), boundary between family and work is becoming increasingly blurred. Consequently, public concern about overtime-work has been deepened by the emergence of “996” working schedule, which means employees are required to be indulged in work from 9am to 9pm weekly except Sunday. Both positive and negative outcomes may be caused by such work schedule. According to self-determination theory (SDT), an understanding of human motivation requires a full consideration of innate psychological needs for autonomy, competence and relatedness, hence the ‘workaholic’ behavioral pattern could be understood in terms of satisfying the needs for competence. The work motivation of ‘workaholic’ originates from inner motivation, workaholics devote themselves to work and enjoy working both energetically and strenuously. Enjoyment of work is expected to be positively related to high level of satisfying the needs of competence. Based on SDT, the data collected from 3513 employees during an online survey in two time points indicates that workaholism positively predicts personal well-being, which is mediated by the sense of competence. The direct effect of work enjoyment on personal well-being could be seen more evident than that of work drive. Finally, the theoretical and practical contributions of this study are as followings: (1) this study contributes to the existing empirical research of relationship between workaholism and well-being by comparing effects of well-being generated by drive of work and enjoyment of work, (2) this study extends the understanding of the relationship between workaholism and well-being by revealing the internal mechanism using self-determination theory, (3) the employees of the organization are supposed to be trained in order to enhance their competence and the leaders would be well advised to offer employees more positive feedback. Future studies should focus on the integration of main various theory models, examining the influence of various mediating and moderating variables, and exploring the relationship between workaholism and well-being at dimensional level.

Published in	Journal of Human Resource Management (Volume 8, Issue 1)
DOI	10.11648/j.jhrm.201200801.15
Page(s)	32-38
Creative Commons	This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright	Copyright © The Author(s), 2020. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Workaholism, Well-being, Competence, Work Drive, Enjoyment of Work

References

[1]	Porter, G. (2004). Work, work ethic, work excess. Journal of organizational change management, 17 (5), 424-439.
[2]	Audrey Babic, Florence Stinglhamber, Françoise Bertrand, & Isabelle Hansez. (2017). Work–home interface and well-being a cross-lagged analysis., 16 (1).
[3]	Scott, K. S. and Moore, K. S. et al. (1997), “An exploration of the meaning and consequences of workaholism”, Human Relations, Vol. 50 No. 3, pp. 287-314.
[4]	Ng, T. W., Sorensen, K. L., & Feldman, D. C. (2007). Dimensions, antecedents, and consequences of workaholism: A conceptual integration and extension. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 28 (1), 111-136.
[5]	Spence, J. T., & Robbins, A. S. (1992). Workaholism: Definition, measurement, and preliminary results. Journal of personality assessment, 58 (1), 160-178.
[6]	McMillan, L. H., O'Driscoll, M. P., Marsh, N. V., & Brady, E. C. (2001). Understanding workaholism: Data synthesis, theoretical critique, and future design strategies. International Journal of Stress Management, 8 (2), 69-91.
[7]	Diener, E., & Seligman, M. E. (2004). Beyond money: Toward an economy of well-being. Psychological science in the public interest, 5 (1), 1-31.
[8]	Akihito Shimazu, Wilmar B Schaufeli, Kimika Kamiyama, & Norito Kawakami. (2015). Workaholism vs. work engagement: the two different predictors of future well-being and performance. International Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 22, 18-23.
[9]	Torp, S.; Lysfjord, L.; Midje, H. H. (2018) Workaholism and work–family conﬂict among university academics. High. Educ., 76, 1071–1090.
[10]	Patel AS, Bowler MC, Bowler JL, Methe SA. (2012). A meta-analysis of workaholism. International Journal of Business and Management, 7 (11): 2-17.
[11]	Burke, R. J. (1999). Workaholism and extra-work satisfactions. The International Journal of Organizational Analysis, 7 (4), 352-364.
[12]	Gillet, N.; Fouquereau, E.; Vallerand, R. J.; Abraham, J.; Colombat, P. (2018). The role of workers’ motivational proﬁles in aﬀective and organizational factors. J. Happiness Stud., 19, 1151–1174.
[13]	Machlowitz, M. (1980). Workaholics, living with them, working with them. Addison Wesley Publishing Company.
[14]	Ilardi, B. C., Leone, D., Kasser, T., & Ryan, R. M. (1993). Employee and Supervisor Ratings of Motivation: Main Effects and Discrepancies Associated with Job Satisfaction and Adjustment in a Factory Setting 1. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 23 (21), 1789-1805.
[15]	Snir, R., & Harpaz, I. (2004). Attitudinal and demographic antecedents of workaholism. Journal of Organizational Change Management, 17 (5), 520-536.
[16]	Liliya, Scafuri, Kovalchuk, et al. (2019). Can Work Engagement Be a Resource for Reducing Workaholism's Undesirable Outcomes? A Multiple Mediating Model Including Moderated Mediation Analysis.[J]. International journal of environmental research and public health.
[17]	Bakker, A. B., Demerouti, E., & Burke, R. (2009). Workaholism and relationship quality: a spillover-crossover perspective. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 14 (1), 23.
[18]	Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (2000). The" what" and" why" of goal pursuits: Human needs and the self-determination of behavior. Psychological inquiry, 11 (4), 227-268.
[19]	Gagné, M., & Deci, E. L. (2005). Self‐determination theory and work motivation. Journal of Organizational behavior, 26 (4), 331-362.
[20]	Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2000). Self-determination theory and the facilitation of intrinsic motivation, social development, and well-being. American psychologist, 55 (1), 68.
[21]	Van Wijhe C. Peeters MCW, Schaufeli WB. (2014). Enough is enough! Cognitive antecedents of workaholism and its aftermath. Human Resource Management, 53 (1): 157-177.
[22]	Mazzetti, G., Schaufeli, W. B., and Guglielmi, D. (2014). Are workaholics born or made? Relations of workaholism with person characteristics and overwork climate. Int. J. Stress Manage. 21, 227.
[23]	Langseth-Eide, B. (2019). It's been a hard day's night and i've been working like a dog: workaholism and work engagement in the jd-r model. Frontiers in Psychology.
[24]	Huang L. & Peng B. Y. (2015). Occupational Well-being and Employee Innovative Job Performance: A Multilevel Moderated Mediation Model. Nankai Business Review, 18 (2), 15-29.
[25]	Richer, S. F., Blanchard, C., & Vallerand, R. J. (2002). A motivational model of work turnover. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 32 (10), 2089-2113.
[26]	Parker, S. L., Jimmieson, N. L., & Amiot, C. E. (2010). Self-determination as a moderator of demands and control: Implications for employee strain and engagement. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 76 (1), 52-67.

Cite This Article

Plain Text BibTeX RIS

APA Style

Jun Zhang, Chen Song, Yuxuan Lan. (2020). Workaholism and Subjective Well-being: Examining a Mediation Model. Journal of Human Resource Management, 8(1), 32-38. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.jhrm.201200801.15

Copy | Download

ACS Style

Jun Zhang; Chen Song; Yuxuan Lan. Workaholism and Subjective Well-being: Examining a Mediation Model. J. Hum. Resour. Manag. 2020, 8(1), 32-38. doi: 10.11648/j.jhrm.201200801.15

Copy | Download

AMA Style

Jun Zhang, Chen Song, Yuxuan Lan. Workaholism and Subjective Well-being: Examining a Mediation Model. J Hum Resour Manag. 2020;8(1):32-38. doi: 10.11648/j.jhrm.201200801.15

Copy | Download

@article{10.11648/j.jhrm.201200801.15,
  author = {Jun Zhang and Chen Song and Yuxuan Lan},
  title = {Workaholism and Subjective Well-being: Examining a Mediation Model},
  journal = {Journal of Human Resource Management},
  volume = {8},
  number = {1},
  pages = {32-38},
  doi = {10.11648/j.jhrm.201200801.15},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.jhrm.201200801.15},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.jhrm.201200801.15},
  abstract = {With the popularization of the new ways of working (such as flexible work schedule and telecommuting), boundary between family and work is becoming increasingly blurred. Consequently, public concern about overtime-work has been deepened by the emergence of “996” working schedule, which means employees are required to be indulged in work from 9am to 9pm weekly except Sunday. Both positive and negative outcomes may be caused by such work schedule. According to self-determination theory (SDT), an understanding of human motivation requires a full consideration of innate psychological needs for autonomy, competence and relatedness, hence the ‘workaholic’ behavioral pattern could be understood in terms of satisfying the needs for competence. The work motivation of ‘workaholic’ originates from inner motivation, workaholics devote themselves to work and enjoy working both energetically and strenuously. Enjoyment of work is expected to be positively related to high level of satisfying the needs of competence. Based on SDT, the data collected from 3513 employees during an online survey in two time points indicates that workaholism positively predicts personal well-being, which is mediated by the sense of competence. The direct effect of work enjoyment on personal well-being could be seen more evident than that of work drive. Finally, the theoretical and practical contributions of this study are as followings: (1) this study contributes to the existing empirical research of relationship between workaholism and well-being by comparing effects of well-being generated by drive of work and enjoyment of work, (2) this study extends the understanding of the relationship between workaholism and well-being by revealing the internal mechanism using self-determination theory, (3) the employees of the organization are supposed to be trained in order to enhance their competence and the leaders would be well advised to offer employees more positive feedback. Future studies should focus on the integration of main various theory models, examining the influence of various mediating and moderating variables, and exploring the relationship between workaholism and well-being at dimensional level.},
 year = {2020}
}

Copy | Download

TY  - JOUR
T1  - Workaholism and Subjective Well-being: Examining a Mediation Model
AU  - Jun Zhang
AU  - Chen Song
AU  - Yuxuan Lan
Y1  - 2020/02/10
PY  - 2020
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.jhrm.201200801.15
DO  - 10.11648/j.jhrm.201200801.15
T2  - Journal of Human Resource Management
JF  - Journal of Human Resource Management
JO  - Journal of Human Resource Management
SP  - 32
EP  - 38
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2331-0715
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.jhrm.201200801.15
AB  - With the popularization of the new ways of working (such as flexible work schedule and telecommuting), boundary between family and work is becoming increasingly blurred. Consequently, public concern about overtime-work has been deepened by the emergence of “996” working schedule, which means employees are required to be indulged in work from 9am to 9pm weekly except Sunday. Both positive and negative outcomes may be caused by such work schedule. According to self-determination theory (SDT), an understanding of human motivation requires a full consideration of innate psychological needs for autonomy, competence and relatedness, hence the ‘workaholic’ behavioral pattern could be understood in terms of satisfying the needs for competence. The work motivation of ‘workaholic’ originates from inner motivation, workaholics devote themselves to work and enjoy working both energetically and strenuously. Enjoyment of work is expected to be positively related to high level of satisfying the needs of competence. Based on SDT, the data collected from 3513 employees during an online survey in two time points indicates that workaholism positively predicts personal well-being, which is mediated by the sense of competence. The direct effect of work enjoyment on personal well-being could be seen more evident than that of work drive. Finally, the theoretical and practical contributions of this study are as followings: (1) this study contributes to the existing empirical research of relationship between workaholism and well-being by comparing effects of well-being generated by drive of work and enjoyment of work, (2) this study extends the understanding of the relationship between workaholism and well-being by revealing the internal mechanism using self-determination theory, (3) the employees of the organization are supposed to be trained in order to enhance their competence and the leaders would be well advised to offer employees more positive feedback. Future studies should focus on the integration of main various theory models, examining the influence of various mediating and moderating variables, and exploring the relationship between workaholism and well-being at dimensional level.
VL  - 8
IS  - 1
ER  -

Copy | Download

Author Information

Jun Zhang

Department of Human Resource Management and Public Administration, Beijing Institute of Petrochemical Technology, Beijing, People’s Republic of China
Chen Song

Department of Human Resource Management and Public Administration, Beijing Institute of Petrochemical Technology, Beijing, People’s Republic of China
Yuxuan Lan

Department of Human Resource Management and Public Administration, Beijing Institute of Petrochemical Technology, Beijing, People’s Republic of China

Download PDF

Sections

Plain Text BibTeX RIS

APA Style

Jun Zhang, Chen Song, Yuxuan Lan. (2020). Workaholism and Subjective Well-being: Examining a Mediation Model. Journal of Human Resource Management, 8(1), 32-38. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.jhrm.201200801.15

Copy | Download

ACS Style

Jun Zhang; Chen Song; Yuxuan Lan. Workaholism and Subjective Well-being: Examining a Mediation Model. J. Hum. Resour. Manag. 2020, 8(1), 32-38. doi: 10.11648/j.jhrm.201200801.15

Copy | Download

AMA Style

Jun Zhang, Chen Song, Yuxuan Lan. Workaholism and Subjective Well-being: Examining a Mediation Model. J Hum Resour Manag. 2020;8(1):32-38. doi: 10.11648/j.jhrm.201200801.15

Copy | Download

@article{10.11648/j.jhrm.201200801.15,
  author = {Jun Zhang and Chen Song and Yuxuan Lan},
  title = {Workaholism and Subjective Well-being: Examining a Mediation Model},
  journal = {Journal of Human Resource Management},
  volume = {8},
  number = {1},
  pages = {32-38},
  doi = {10.11648/j.jhrm.201200801.15},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.jhrm.201200801.15},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.jhrm.201200801.15},
  abstract = {With the popularization of the new ways of working (such as flexible work schedule and telecommuting), boundary between family and work is becoming increasingly blurred. Consequently, public concern about overtime-work has been deepened by the emergence of “996” working schedule, which means employees are required to be indulged in work from 9am to 9pm weekly except Sunday. Both positive and negative outcomes may be caused by such work schedule. According to self-determination theory (SDT), an understanding of human motivation requires a full consideration of innate psychological needs for autonomy, competence and relatedness, hence the ‘workaholic’ behavioral pattern could be understood in terms of satisfying the needs for competence. The work motivation of ‘workaholic’ originates from inner motivation, workaholics devote themselves to work and enjoy working both energetically and strenuously. Enjoyment of work is expected to be positively related to high level of satisfying the needs of competence. Based on SDT, the data collected from 3513 employees during an online survey in two time points indicates that workaholism positively predicts personal well-being, which is mediated by the sense of competence. The direct effect of work enjoyment on personal well-being could be seen more evident than that of work drive. Finally, the theoretical and practical contributions of this study are as followings: (1) this study contributes to the existing empirical research of relationship between workaholism and well-being by comparing effects of well-being generated by drive of work and enjoyment of work, (2) this study extends the understanding of the relationship between workaholism and well-being by revealing the internal mechanism using self-determination theory, (3) the employees of the organization are supposed to be trained in order to enhance their competence and the leaders would be well advised to offer employees more positive feedback. Future studies should focus on the integration of main various theory models, examining the influence of various mediating and moderating variables, and exploring the relationship between workaholism and well-being at dimensional level.},
 year = {2020}
}

Copy | Download

TY  - JOUR
T1  - Workaholism and Subjective Well-being: Examining a Mediation Model
AU  - Jun Zhang
AU  - Chen Song
AU  - Yuxuan Lan
Y1  - 2020/02/10
PY  - 2020
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.jhrm.201200801.15
DO  - 10.11648/j.jhrm.201200801.15
T2  - Journal of Human Resource Management
JF  - Journal of Human Resource Management
JO  - Journal of Human Resource Management
SP  - 32
EP  - 38
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2331-0715
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.jhrm.201200801.15
AB  - With the popularization of the new ways of working (such as flexible work schedule and telecommuting), boundary between family and work is becoming increasingly blurred. Consequently, public concern about overtime-work has been deepened by the emergence of “996” working schedule, which means employees are required to be indulged in work from 9am to 9pm weekly except Sunday. Both positive and negative outcomes may be caused by such work schedule. According to self-determination theory (SDT), an understanding of human motivation requires a full consideration of innate psychological needs for autonomy, competence and relatedness, hence the ‘workaholic’ behavioral pattern could be understood in terms of satisfying the needs for competence. The work motivation of ‘workaholic’ originates from inner motivation, workaholics devote themselves to work and enjoy working both energetically and strenuously. Enjoyment of work is expected to be positively related to high level of satisfying the needs of competence. Based on SDT, the data collected from 3513 employees during an online survey in two time points indicates that workaholism positively predicts personal well-being, which is mediated by the sense of competence. The direct effect of work enjoyment on personal well-being could be seen more evident than that of work drive. Finally, the theoretical and practical contributions of this study are as followings: (1) this study contributes to the existing empirical research of relationship between workaholism and well-being by comparing effects of well-being generated by drive of work and enjoyment of work, (2) this study extends the understanding of the relationship between workaholism and well-being by revealing the internal mechanism using self-determination theory, (3) the employees of the organization are supposed to be trained in order to enhance their competence and the leaders would be well advised to offer employees more positive feedback. Future studies should focus on the integration of main various theory models, examining the influence of various mediating and moderating variables, and exploring the relationship between workaholism and well-being at dimensional level.
VL  - 8
IS  - 1
ER  -

Copy | Download