Workaholism, Burnout, and Work Engagement: Three of a Kind or Three Different Kinds of Employee Well-being?
Wilmar B. Schaufeli,
Toon W. Taris,
Willem Van Rhenen,
Corresponding Author
Wilmar B. Schaufeli
Utrecht University, The Netherlands
* Address for correspondence: Wilmar B. Schaufeli, Utrecht University, Department of Psychology, P.O. Box 80.140, 3508 TC Utrecht, The Netherlands. Email: [email protected]Search for more papers by this author
Wilmar B. Schaufeli,
Toon W. Taris,
Willem Van Rhenen,
Corresponding Author
Wilmar B. Schaufeli
Utrecht University, The Netherlands
* Address for correspondence: Wilmar B. Schaufeli, Utrecht University, Department of Psychology, P.O. Box 80.140, 3508 TC Utrecht, The Netherlands. Email: [email protected]Search for more papers by this authorAbstract
The present study investigated in a sample of 587 telecom managers whether workaholism, burnout, and work engagement—the supposed antipode of burnout—can be distinguished empirically. These three concepts were measured with existing, validated multi-dimensional questionnaires. Structural equation modeling revealed that a slightly modified version of the hypothesised model that assumed three distinct yet correlated constructs—burnout, engagement, and workaholism—fitted the data best. Multiple regression analyses revealed that these three concepts retained unique hypothesised patterns of relationships with variables from five clusters representing (1) long working hours, (2) job characteristics, (3) work outcomes, (4) quality of social relationships, and (5) perceived health, respectively. In sum, our analyses provided converging evidence that workaholism, burnout, and engagement are three different kinds of employee well-being rather than three of a kind.
La présente étude examine auprès d’un échantillon de 587 cadres des télécommunications la question de savoir si l’addiction au travail, le burnout et l’engagement au travail—supposé l’inverse du burnout—peuvent être distingués empiriquement. Ces trois concepts sont mesurés à partir de questionnaires multi-dimensionnels existants et validés. La modélisation d’équation structurale indique qu’une version légèrement modifiée du modèle testé selon lequel le burnout, l’engagement au travail et l’addiction au travail sont trois formes distinctes bien que corrélées du bien-être, rend mieux compte des résultats. Des analyses de régression multiples montrent que ces trois concepts renvoient à des modèles de relations supposés uniques entre les variables des cinq groupes suivants: 1) le nombre d’heures travaillées, 2) les caractéristiques du travail, 3) les résultats du travail, 4) la qualité des relations sociales et 5) la santé perçue. En conclusion, les analyses montrent de façon convergente que l’addiction au travail, le burnout et l’engagement au travail sont trois formes différentes de bien-être des employés plutôt que trois facettes du bien-être.
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