THE HEART OF THE PROBLEM: ASSESSING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN WORKAHOLISM AND HEALTH-RELATED OUTCOMES.

Abstract

While prior research has examined workaholism in relation to physiological outcomes and physical health, less is known about how employees perceive these negative health-related consequences of workaholism. To address this concern, we examined whether employees are anxious about the health-related consequences of prolonged workaholic tendencies. Drawing on effort-recovery theory, we examined workaholism in relation to heart anxiety (H1), psychological well-being (H2), work-life balance (H3), and recovery (H4). Additionally, we investigated the moderating relationships of recovery (H5, H6) and work-life balance (H7, H8) to further investigate workaholism in relation to heart-anxiety and psychological well-being. By doing so, we aimed to further examine the recovery paradox within the context of workaholism. Our final sample consisted of 368 full-time faculty and staff at a southeastern university. Additionally, we found partial support for the recovery paradox. Furthermore, we found significant main effects between workaholism and psychological well-being (H2), work-life balance (H3), and recovery (H4). Given our results, we cannot determine whether workaholics are anxious about health-related consequences of workaholism. Future research, organizational implications, and study limitations are addressed.