Fakultäten » Philosophische Fakultät » Psychologisches Institut » Angewandte Psychologie » Prof. Dr. Urs Schallberger (emeritiert) » Schallberger
| Title / Titel | Are people who work a lot "workaholics"? A study of the everyday experience of people who work a lot |
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| Abstract (PDF, 14 KB) | |||||
| Original title / Originaltitel | Sind viel arbeitende Menschen Workaholics? | ||||
| Summary / Zusammenfassung | People who regularly work longer hours than is usual are often called "workaholics" (a term derived from "alcoholics") with the negative connotation of "addicted to work". Addiction, however, is a psychopathological category that designates a process whereby a person cannot control a behavior for psychological reasons despite negative consequences. Upon this background, it is possible to distinguish persons with different types of work attitudes (such as true workaholics, work enthusiasts, work "indifferents"). A number of studies have shown that within this differentiation, workaholics do not necessarily work more than other worker types, but they do suffer from detriments to psychosocial health. This study investigated two main research questions: The first was whether the different types mentioned above can be identified among people who work long hours and whether, therefore, workaholics are just a sub-group of that larger group. The second question examined the everyday experience of the various types: What effects – in comparison to other attitudes to work – does workaholism have on people's everyday well-being at work and during leisure time? To find the answers, the researchers engaged 75 persons who work more than 50 hours a week to participate in the study. The data relevant to the first research question were gathered by means of a conventional survey, and the data relevant to the second question were obtained from a one-week-long Experience Sampling Study, during the course of which each participant recorded a well-being report for over 50 moments in daily life. The empirical study was conducted by Eliane Dürr, Isabelle Egger, and Gaby Pfister as part of the "Quality of experience in everyday life" project. |
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| Publications / Publikationen | Schallberger, Urs, Egger, Isabelle, Dürr, Eliane & Pfister, Gaby (2005). Wie unterscheidet sich das Arbeitserleben von Workaholics und Arbeitsenthusiasten? In G. Blickle & A. Witzki (Hrsg.), Psychologie im Arbeitsleben. Menschen verstehen, Organisationen erklären, Arbeit human gestalten. Berichte aus dem Psychologischen Institut der Rheinischen Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn, Band 31, Heft 1, S.125 (Kongress-Abstract). | ||||
| Keywords / Suchbegriffe | workaholism, work enthusiasm | ||||
| Project leadership and contacts / Projektleitung und Kontakte |
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| Funding source(s) / Unterstützt durch |
Others |
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| Duration of Project / Projektdauer | Jan 2002 to Jul 2007 |