Workaholism: Health risk and prevention in the organizations

In this chapter, we will present some of the many definitions proposed for workaholism, highlighting the lack of a shared conceptualization by the scientific community and discussing the recent proposal related to the Heavy Work Investment model. Next, we will present all studies that have analyzed the relationship between neuroticism and workaholism, demonstrating major support for the association between neuroticism and the cognitive dimension of workaholism. Then, we will describe the negative consequences associated to workaholism, including physical and psychological health, as well as workplace and family wellbeing. Finally, we will discuss the lack of studies related to preventive interventions and mention the few studies that do provide some insights into prevention, in particular a recent study emphasizing the role of overwork climate in fueling workaholism.