We all know someone we would characterize as a workaholic. In fact, many of these people self-identify as such. Although we view hard workers as valuable producers, there are other factors to consider. A quantity over quality mindset creates the possibility of mistakes, and “all work and no play” is a recipe for burnout. So, where do we draw the line?
Quantity Over Quality: A Question of Perception
Guido Alessandri et al. (2020) examined workaholism in a piece entitled “The Costs of Working Too Hard.”[i] They started by recognizing that although hard work yielding achievement is an intuitive link, research tends to depict workaholics as hard workers rather than smart workers.
Alessandri et al. define workaholism or work addiction as “a dispositional type of heavy work investment” causing employees to feel obligated to work and engage in work-related activities driven by internal forces that control their behavior.
They point out something many of us have noticed in our colleagues and perhaps ourselves: Workaholics tend to work beyond what is reasonably expected or requested, displaying a “compulsive and obsessive” preoccupation toward their work. The question for organizations is how does this disposition impact office productivity and culture?
Putting Job Responsibilities Over Relationships
Alessandri et al. examined the link between workaholism and prosocial organizational citizenship behavior (P-OCB), which represents individual behavior that is “discretionary, not directly or explicitly recognized by the formal reward system,” and promotes effective and efficient organizational functioning. They note that P-OCB is characterized by displaying positive, personal interest in coworkers and colleagues, and constructive behavior such as helping others who have been absent. This disposition benefits other employees as well as the organization as a whole by promoting a higher level of productivity, better allocation of resources and flexibility, and a higher degree of performance stability.
Following a sample of 85 police officers for three months, Alessandri et al. found that workaholic tendencies negatively predicted P-OCB indirectly through an employee’s perception of job requirements. They observe that workaholics perceive and actively seek out job demands which decrease P-OCB.
Hard Work and Team Playing
Alessandri et al. recognize their results question the popular belief that hard work naturally makes workaholics good performers—although this is sometimes true. They note that working hard often leads to producing more, although excessive performance may be counteracted by decreased contextual job performance. Subsequent research has also shown that workaholism and related dimensions have different types of impact on different aspects of work performance.[ii]
Regarding whether workaholics are a good investment for an organization, Alessandri et al. suggest that it depends on the job they are hired to do. The ideal niche for a workaholic is a job characterized by a high degree of complexity and competency, as well as jobs where performance does not require employee interdependence.
Responsibilities requiring collaboration and cooperation are not a good fit. Because helping peers requires time and effort, they note it is not surprising that higher job demands is the critical mechanism leading workaholics away from P-OCB. In their “heroic attempt” to stay on top of their workload, Alessandri et al. note that workaholics fail to perceive the potential rewards associated with P-OCB, such as additional resources, emotional support, and a sense of belonging.
For workaholics, understanding the motivation behind their momentum can help them see the broader range of potential benefits, from professional productivity to personal relationships.