Hustlin’ or Addiction?: The Multidimensional Workaholism Scale
Couples Therapy, Money Stress, Financial Therapy
Workaholism is on the rise across the world, especially when the pandemic shifted and changed how, when, and where we worked. For many, the home became the new work place. So with the ‘normal’ boundaries blurred between work and non-work time, how are we to determine if we have a workaholism issue?
Researchers Clark, Smith, & Haynes (2020) developed a scale pre-pandemic that we can use here to help us tease out the details. Let’s take a look.
Participants in the study were asked to report the degree to which each item describes them (1 = never true, 2 = seldom true, 3 = sometimes true, 4 = often true, 5 = always true).
Motivational
I always have an inner pressure inside of me that drives me to work.
I work because there is a part inside of me that feels compelled to work.
I have a strong inner desire to work all of the time.
There is a pressure inside of me that drives me to work.
Cognitive
I feel like I cannot stop myself from thinking about working.
In general, I spend my free time thinking about work.
At any given time, the majority of my thoughts are work related.
It is difficult for me to stop thinking about work when I stop working.
Emotional
I feel upset if I have to miss a day of work for any reason.
I am almost always frustrated when I am not able to work.
I feel upset if I cannot continue to work.
When something prevents me from working, I usually get agitated.
Behavioral
When most of my coworkers will take breaks, I keep working.
I work more than what is expected of me.
I tend to work longer hours than most of my coworkers.
I tend to work beyond my job’s requirements.
The researchers had over 1000 participants in the United States answer this scale (along with other related scales) and found that it was a reliable and valid measure of work addictive patterns.
So how can we use this scale? Is there a specific score that we should be aiming for? The study was not able to give us a ‘clinical cutoff’ score just yet (that would come from further research). However, we can use the scale to help have meaningful conversations with our friends and family about our work habits.
My suggestion? Scroll back up, re-read the items and ask:
How true is each item/sentence for yourself (or your partner)?
How would you want to change this item/sentence for yourself (or your partner)?
If you or someone you know might need help with this, have them give me a call! If I am not a good fit, I will help them find someone who is.
DrZepeda@FinancialTherapyTexas.com
Phone: 713-291-9553