Positive and Negative Workaholism
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Abstract
Despite over 30 years of research on workaholism, scholars have been unable to reach a consensus regarding its definition, measurement, or implications for practice. My review of past research suggested that the relationships of outcomes to workaholism may be better understood using a two-dimensional positive/negative conceptual model as opposed to the unitary model that is currently used. This study surveyed 566 undergraduate students to compare two distinct models of workaholism and determine which has the best fit. Model 1 specified a unitary model of workaholism, and Model 2 specified two workaholism factors corresponding to positive and negative workaholism. Using various goodness-of-fit indices, results suggest that although the two-dimensional model of workaholism fits the data better than the unidimensional model, both models exhibited poor fit. An exploratory factor analysis suggests that workaholism may indeed be best studied as a two-dimensional construct; however, the factors found did not support the hypothesized positive/negative conceptual model.