unit 8

Unit VIII Article Review

For this assignment, you will locate an article in the CSU Online Library that relates to organizational behavior, and write a review of the article. Your article review must be a minimum of two pages in length. Be sure to address each of the following points in your article review. Identify the premise of the article and supporting points. How does the author describe organizational behavior? Why is organizational behavior important? Which business concepts covered in this course were you able to identify? You are required to use at least one scholarly source. All in-text citations and references must be formatted according to APA guidelines. The Business Source Complete, Academic Search Complete, ABI/INFORM Collection, and Academic OneFile databases should be helpful for this assignment. Click here to view a tutorial that shares a few tips on finding articles in the databases. Information about accessing the grading rubric for this assignment is provided below

[a] Bachelor in Business Administration – Lutheran University of Brazil (ULBRA). Business Analyst in

Lutheran University of Brazil (ULBRA), Canoas, RS, Brazil. Email: rmormello@gmail.com
[b] Doctor in Business Administration – Getulio Vargas Foundation (EAESP/FGV). Professor in Lu-

theran University of Brazil (ULBRA), Canoas, RS, Brazil. Email: vpreichelt@gvmail.br

The workaholic behavior means addiction to work and it is a poorly researched term academically,
but in the praxis of companies it occurs very frequently, even more with the fierce competitiveness,
global crisis and constant technological evolutions. Therefore, the principal objective was to ana-
lyze characteristics of the workaholic behavior in the bachelors with business administration de-
gree of Rio Grande do Sul state. In the theoretical foundation, issues such as people management,
quality of life at work and workaholic behavior itself were addressed. The methodology used for
the construction of this research was applied nature and research of quantitative method, besides
being a descriptive field research. Data collection was done through a Likert questionnaire which
resulted in 233 respondents, all of them bachelors with business administration degree. The results
of these data were presented in tables with average and standard deviation, subsequently these
data were evaluated through univariate and multivariate analyzes of factorial type. Finally, the
obtained results of the research allowed identifying characteristics that researchers have already
mentioned and also note the emergence of new ones, combining also the consequences of this
behavior in the personal and professional life of the bachelors in business administration of Rio
Grande do

Sul.

Keywords: Workaholic. Work addiction. Quality of life at work. Characteristics of workaholic be-

havior.

In the pursuit of business success, some companies and organizations intend

to search for people that are almost exclusively dedicated to them, resulting in psy-

chological and physical consequences to them. One of the terms that characterize a

high present phenomenon lately is the Workaholic term. Deriving from English lan-

guage, it is the combination of the words (Work and aholic = alcoholic), regarded as

an addiction – but to work – , it is used to name people with an accelerated work pace,

excessive workload and the incessant search for results.

The workaholic phenomenon has a higher increase in employees at manage-

ment positions, entrepreneurs and administrators of Brazil due to the modern world

fact: in order to meet the competitive and turbulent market, it is crucial that the per-

son responsible for the decision-taking has integral dedication to the organiza

tion.

The main object of this work was to conduct a study in bachelors with admin-

istration degree in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, analyze the social and behavior

influence of workaholism in the administration bachelors, identify recurrent situa-

tions of workaholism inside companies and perform comparative analysis of the ob-

tained results. From these elements, the author sought to find the answer for the

following question: which are the characteristics related to workaholic behavior in

the bachelors with business administration degree of the Rio Grande do Sul?

To this end, the present study is divided in five sessions. The first one is the in-

troduction itself. The theoretical context is shown in session two and it uses refer-

ences to its base. In this session, it addressed the subject area itself, the workaholic

behavior (combination of words work and aholic), clarifying the fine line between

worklovers and workaholics and the importance of rest with the main authors: Sa-

lanova et al (2007), Carlotto (2011), Andreassen et al (2016), Serva and Ferreira

(2006), De Masi (2000) and Stefaniczen, Stefano and Machado (2010), Hansen

(2005), Lipp and Rocha (2007), Malagris (2013), Osso (2010), Martir (2013) and

Marques (2016).

In the third session, the methodological procedures of the study were present-

ed. The nature of the research was applied and a quantitative approach was adopted,

followed by the field research design which had as target population the business

administration bachelors that are active in the labor market. The sampling was of

infinite population and not probabilistic in the quantitative method, counting on a

sample of 233 administration bachelors, using convenience sample procedure. In the

fourth session the data and results of the research were presented through their

graphs and tables, besides the analysis through the multivariate technique of factori-

al type, followed by a general analysis of the characteristics.

The fifth and final session presented the final considerations and, subsequent-

ly, the bibliographic references that were used in this study and its appendices.

The current global reality in the workplace is based on competition and it has

made companies seek to expand their business in order to become more competitive

and become the best in the market (CARLOTTO, 2011). Based on this purpose, Car-

lotto (2011) still comments that organizations start to search for and select employ-

ees with certain profiles, profiles that tend to have a high commitment and dedica-

tion to work, always striving for excellence. Serva and Ferreira (2006) also comment

that this integral dedication and lifestyle almost exclusively focused on work and/or

Duty, pleasure or addiction? Study of worka-holic behavior in bachelors with business ad-
ministration degree

organization, becomes a kind of “rule of survival” and only way to leverage the ca-

reer.

About this reality, Carlotto (2011) points out that it can produce negative con-

ditions and consequences for individuals, such as dependence or job addiction. Serva

and Ferreira (2006) expound that from these behaviors workaholism by the psy-

chologist Wayne Oates, in which he reported his own experience when comparing

himself to an alcoholic und thus an addict, but to work. Moreover Serva and Ferreira

(2006) consider it was from 1975 that the phenomenon workaholic happened with

intensity, marked mainly by the Fordist crisis. It is believed that it was in Fordism

that the great manifestation of business competition took place in global scale. The

term Addition to Work (AT), with the same meaning, is used in Brazil (CARLOTTO,

2011).

Oates1 (1971, apud SERVA and FERREIRA, 2006) defined workaholism as a

compulsion, necessity and uncontrolled addiction to perform work relentlessly. Sa-

lanova et al (2007) adds that psychosocial damages can arise through this accelerat-

ed work rhythm, as well as Andreassen et al (2016) complements that through this

uncontrollable motivation to work, the individual devotes so much time and effort

that it ends up harming other important areas of life. According to Hansen (2005) it

is important to emphasize that overworking cannot be confused with workaholism.

Those who work too hard know the boundaries between work and personal life and

they feel good when they are not at work. Pereira et al (2012) define as an excess of

work when it is extrapolated 45 hours per week, but it is not possible to measure the

relevance of work in the life of the individual, since other issues also have im-

portance, such as: the intensity of tasks in their working hours and physical and psy-

chological exhaustion.

About social and emotional damages, Salanova et al (2007) defines as social

damage once the worker does not feel well when presenting this phenomenon, he

manifests high stress and psychological malaise. Besides it affects other environ-

ments, such as personal relationships in the workplace – clash with co-workers and

reduction in income – and out of work with conflicts with family and friends. The

author still comments that the addition to the work goes beyond the traditional daily

journey. It is common for workaholics to take work home, to work on weekends,

during vacations and even when they are sick. All of these traits are categorized as

“extra work,” and therefore, many times, even without a visible and effective task, the

workaholic is likely to be mind-connected in work matters.

In the purpose of establishing characteristics and a profile for workaholic indi-

viduals, Salanova et al (2007) determine some common characteristics between

them. The great importance of work: the addicted individuals express a great signifi-

cance to work. Everything revolves around work and it is the most important thing in

his life, more than family, friends and free time. Intensity and vitality: workaholics

have a lot of energy and vitality, often driven by competitiveness. They also constant-

ly compare themselves with others. Excessive habits: they work harder than you are

asked for. They have a good short-term performance, but the high expectations of

1 OATES, W. Confessions of a workaholic: the facts about work addiction. New York:
World Publishing, 1971.

themselves lead to increasingly difficult and unattainable goals, which lead them to

long-term problems, resulting in a sense of failure shortly after this process. Control:

they need to be in control over everything they do and their work environment.

When this does not happen they feel extremely uncomfortable, therefore the difficul-

ty in delegating tasks, since they prefer to personally control the situation. Difficult

interpersonal relationship: they care about their own work, but not with the rela-

tionship with others at work. This lack of communication leads to the inability to

relate to others and delegate tasks, so working as a team becomes only an obligation.

The existence of self-esteem also appears as a characteristic, since it is a rela-

tion of interdependence: favorable self-esteem results in a good job, when there is

the opposite, frustration appears and begins to erode self-esteem. Health problems:

due to excessive hours of work, they become constantly exhausted, resulting in high

levels of stress and illness. Many of these individuals do not have the chance of a

continual recovery from their excessive psychophysical efforts. “Presentism”: term

that conceptualizes the worker that even sick does not leave his tasks aside. Work is

of the utmost importance not to carry it out. Problems outside work: having family

conflicts is one of the first consequences of overwork. Those individuals show dissat-

isfaction when outside of work environment.

It is believed that workaholics behave in this way for financial reasons, or for

particular concerns, in addition to low self-esteem and emptiness feeling. (STEFAN-

ICZEN; STEFANO; MACHADO, 2010). Evolutionary characteristics impact on the

change between genders; also generating different ways of behaving in relation to

the workaholic behavior, both female and male brain, over time, have been modified

in order to meet these pressures of the modern world. As for example, the masculine

gender manifests more its competitive side, while the feminine gender, the commu-

nication. (MACIEL, 2016). Generation also has a great impact in a certain way, since

the generation Y (those born between 1980 and 1995) is born with the greatest mas-

tery of performing multiple tasks simultaneously. (CALLIARI, MOTA, 2012). In addi-

tion to these characteristics mentioned before, workaholic individuals have mostly a

pattern of behavioral type. Lipp and Rocha (2007) discuss the pattern of behavior

type “A”: at this behavior prevails hurry, anxiety to return to work, engagement in

various activities and lack of patience with others. Lipp and Rocha (2007) also point

out that this type of behavior is very common within the work environment, so the

person does not realize that is developing a level of stress and thinks that only with

this behavior will be able to achieve success. Limongi-França and Rodrigues (2007)

emphasize that this type of behavior is not exclusive to workaholics, but is widely

seen in executives and leaders.

According to Stefaniczen, Stefano and Machado (2010) there are three types of

workaholics:

1. Compulsive-dependent: the person has as characteristic the compul-

sion to work and shows dependence of the work. The individual works excessive-

ly and irrationally, and even when he realizes the excess, he is unable to control

himself or allow himself to reduce his workload.

2. Perfectionist: the individual has as main characteristic to remain in

control, in a rigid and non-flexible way. Always searches the power to master en-

tire working environment and he presents detailed profile.

Duty, pleasure or addiction? Study of worka-holic behavior in bachelors with business ad-
ministration degree

3. Performance oriented and/or enthusiastic: he/she has a speculative

character and an entrepreneurial spirit. The characteristics are the willingness

and motivation to wait for rewards, a forward look to a great professional growth

at any cost and a lot of patience to deal with these questions and with the com-

petitiveness.

As well as “A” type of behavior, these characteristics do not exclusively com-

prise the “workaholic profile”, since, they must be analyzed as continuous and com-

binable variables, between one or more types already mentioned.

Stefaniczen, Stefano and Machado (2010) conclude that workaholism causes

the individual to lose the balance between personal and professional life. Although,

according to some studies, there is a term that represents this balance, called work-

lover.

People who are passionate about what they do at work have a definition:

worklover. The origin of this word comes from several studies that defend work as a

way of doing good to body and soul. Those who love their work feel pleasure in what

they do and know how to manage their time, so that they know how to put work in

its proper place, rest and fun at its right time, so that it’s not allowed that one aspect

interferes in another (BHERING, 2015).

Bhering (2015) also defines the main characteristics of worklovers individuals.

Such features present completely different ways of seeing work from a workaholic

individual. It starts by characterizing this professional as one who is pleased with

what he does, that is based on his own motivation to carry out his works, which are

not seen by him as “burdens” or “punishment”, not even if they have great volume of

work, but they’re faced as opportunity to leverage and develop the career. These

worklovers also recognize that their own motivation “comes from inside out,” so

they do not expect reward from their superiors.

Another very significant feature of worklovers is time: while some people in-

side organizations often find that the hours within the company slowly pass, to a

worklover the day goes fast and he is even surprised when the worktime comes to an

end. In interpersonal relationships, the worklover shows pleasure in sharing

achievements and demonstrates the wish for continuous team learning. As for prob-

lems that can arise for the individual, related to diseases and syndromes, this person

when he suspects that something is not right with his body, he does not hesitate to go

after medical help.

Para Stefaniczen, Stefano and Machado (2010), the professionals who become

passionate about work are those who are more autonomous in their tasks and know

that they can positively modify their work environment. the professionals who be-

come passionate about work are those who are more autonomous in their tasks and

know that they can positively modify their work environment. In addition, this indi-

vidual has great relationships outside the work environment. Therefore, if the work-

aholic leaves social and personal life, dedicating himself exclusively to his work, the

worklover is perfectly capable of managing his time and effort between work and

social life.

In comparison with generations, Osso (2010) explains that the generation Y is

formed by both, worklovers and workaholics, since the whole problem is about how

work is faced and used in life. However, the author says that there are 20-year-olds

who present stress as well as 55-year-old professionals, reinforcing that this has

more to do with personal than professional profile, even because there are those who

work in big companies – denominated as generation Y style – and present the same

profile as a workaholic.

Working hours are fixed, intervals are compulsory and so is remuneration for

overtime, thus it is no wonder that the labor rights legislation requires workers to

rest and non-compliance of those requirements can result in penalty and compensa-

tion. (MARTIR, 2013).

Martir (2013) also explains that the human body can be compared to a ma-

chine, in the sense of becoming more vulnerable and older, and the excessive use of

this “machine” have devastating effects on the organizational climate, as well as the

health of the worker. When the individual has no attention to nutrition, sleep and

physical and mental energies recovery; the productivity falls and he becomes vulner-

able and subjected to work-related illnesses.

The most well-known rest is vacations. Vacations are described and protected

by law, through the Federal Constitution of Brazil, article 7, XVII: “enjoyment of paid

annual rest with a payment of, at least, one-third more than the normal salary” (BRA-

SIL, 1988) and also by the Consolidation of Labor Laws (CLT) according article 129:”

Every employee shall be entitled annually to the enjoyment of a period of rest, with-

out prejudice to the remuneration” (BRASIL, 1943). Another rest provided by law,

not as spaced as vacation, is the so-called Remunerated Weekly Rest (DSR) support-

ed by the Constitution, through article 7, XV:” weekly paid rest, preferably on Sun-

days; “(BRAZIL, 1988) and by the proper law 605/1949: “every employee is entitled

to weekly paid rest of twenty-four consecutive hours, preferably on Sundays and,

within the limits of the technical requirements of enterprises, on civil and religious

holidays, according to local tradition.” (BRASIL, 1949).

Also through the CLT, by article 71, the interval within the working time is pro-

tected by law: In any continuous work, whose duration exceeds 6 (six) hours, it is

mandatory to grant a rest or feeding interval, which shall be at least 1 (one) hour

and, unless otherwise agreed in writing or collective agreement, shall not exceed two

(2) hours” (BRASIL, 1943). Martir (2013) comments that this interval is of great im-

portance, so that the employee has time for his meals and to prepare the organism

for the second time of work as well. Another important break is the interval between

working days, according to the CLT: ” Between 2 (two) workdays there will be a min-

imum period of 11 (eleven) consecutive hours for rest.” (BRASIL, 1943).

At the end, Martir (2013) emphasizes the merit of rest, because it is an

achievement of the worker over the time and that must be obeyed and exercised.

In addition, there are authors who create terms and actually strategies which

there are rest and periods when the body and mind do not work. De Masi (2000)

Duty, pleasure or addiction? Study of worka-holic behavior in bachelors with business ad-
ministration degree

created the term “creative leisure” and uses it to simplify the importance of conceal-

ing various parts of life, as well as freedom itself. Creative leisure serves as a raw

material for the brain in the production of new ideas, just as steel and coal serve as

raw material for durable goods. This idleness that De Masi (2000) comments does

not mean “not thinking”; this idleness is the importance of not having mandatory

rules, not having a definite time and not obeying rational resources and thus to let

ideas flow.

Regarding the time and effort that is delegated to work, De Masi (2000) says

that activities are more and more intellectual and that is why mental fatigue occurs,

and the best way to compensate comes through this leisure. He also compares work

as the possibility of gaining money and power, but free time brings the possibility of

friendship, relationships, adventure and introspection. Therefore, De Masi (2000) in

his theory suggests that creative leisure should be included in people’s daily lives,

since it would bring more balance, joy and personal satisfaction, which would in-

crease the potential for imagination, productivity and a better performance in new

ideas. As medical researches show, activities can relieve the stress of everyday life

and result in better results at work. By knowing this, companies start off with this

new strategy of putting new practices in their work environment. (LAZZARESCHI,

2009).

Another strategy that can be adopted by the individual or reposted to compa-

nies is the term “corporate athlete”. Marques (2016) exposes the relationship of high

level athletes with executives, great leaders and administrators to succeed, always

looking for high performance and developing a true training to carry out their tasks.

For the formation of a corporate athlete, Marques (2016) says that it is exactly to

follow the training model that an athlete does: to combine moments of stress with

moments of recovery and rest, and for this it is necessary to understand the internal

abilities of each one and stimulate them with actions such as: adopt a balanced and

healthy diet, health care, practice physical activities, and reconcile professional tasks

with moments of relaxation with family and friends.

Lafley (2009) describes experiences that occurred with him as chairman of a

renowned American company. He said that this program was applied “corporate

athlete” to the company administrators and he decided to follow along, with that, he

affirmed that some habits began to change: first, he began to feed well. The chairman

commented that he did not eat breakfast and after the program, he began to eat five

to six times a day in a healthy way. The second habit affected directly on his time

devoted to work. He had a habit of waking up between 5 a.m. and 5:30 a.m. in the

morning and at 7 a.m. was already at his desk; he used to spend twelve hours at

work and when he returned home he continued to work from there. Lafley (2009)

commented that in the first year on his position he worked every Saturday and Sun-

day mornings, but with the habit change he can work hard for a certain period of

time and then take a break of fifteen minutes, which he walks around the company

and chat with the people. Another change of habit was in a spiritual way, which

Lafley began to meditate mainly on his work trips. Finally, Lafley (2009) concludes

saying that the program made him get to know himself better and consequently he

became more calm and peaceful when under pressure.

Finally, both legislation and psychology areas inform the need for rest and the

need to respect periods of leisure for each person. This will not only be beneficial to

the human being as a lucrative for the organizations, since they will count with

healthy collaborators and promising results.

In order to study more about workaholic behavior and explain what techniques

and methods were used, the methodology will be described as follow.

Methodological Procedures

The methodological procedures of the research that sought to find the social,

sociodemographic and behavioral issues, the affective and professional relations of

the workaholic individuals in general were approached. Thus, this topic describes the

nature of the research, types of approach, design, definition of target audience, sam-

pling, collection plan and data analysis.

Then the nature of the research will be described.

This research is focused on the study of the workaholic phenomenon in the

bachelors of administration and, thus, this research is classified as applied, since its

objective is to deepen social and behavioral issues, besides the effects of this phe-

nomenon.

Mascarenhas (2012) teaches that this type of research is aimed at studying the

problem in some current situation.

The approach of this research had as method the quantitative research. It pre-

sents its results in quantities, since most of the time a calculation with a large num-

ber of samples is elaborated and then a truthful as possible picture of the studied

target population is created (FONSECA, 2002).

Research Design

Lakatos and Marconi (2010) characterize field research as a way of obtaining

information from a problem, which also seeks a response. In this way, the authors

emphasize that new phenomena related to them can also be discovered.

The field research covers both exploratory and descriptive research, so that

the descriptive was used for the study design, as well the cross sectional. The de-

scriptive research, according to Gil (2010), shows the description of certain charac-

teristics within a group / population, in order to discover and raise opinions related

to the subject. Lakatos and Marconi (2010) point out that this type of research has

the purpose of designing or analysing the characteristics of facts or phenomena, the

evaluation of programs, or the isolation of key or key variables (2010). Therefore,

they are statistical and accurate data, in order to collect data on populations and to

be used in quantitative modes.

Duty, pleasure or addiction? Study of worka-holic behavior in bachelors with business ad-
ministration degree

The research also had a cross sectional conception that is performed to capture

the state at a specific moment (FLICK, 2012).

Lakatos and Marconi (2010) teach that the delimitation of the target popula-

tion consists of specifying which people or phenomena will be searched, therefore,

this population counted on business administration bachelors that were active in the

labor market, in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, without distinction of gender or class.

The study had an infinite population sampling type, with a number of 233

respondents in the quantitative method, according to the calculation below:

Picture 1 – Sample Calculation for Infinite Population

S

Source: Adapted from MATTAR,

2012.

The method of sampling was probabilistic for convenience, as Mascarenhas

(2012) teaches this method does not generalize results and it is not necessary to

make a random choice, making the type of target population easily accessible. Thus,

the sample error obtained was 6.43% considering 95% reliability and Z = 1.96 (nor-

mal value of the variable in relation to the reliability level).

In order to collect data, the collection plan is the research stage in which the

tools and techniques are used (LAKATOS; MARCONI, 2010). This topic explores how

data were collected and analyzed.

Through the quantitative method, data were collected using a questionnaire by

means of an online questionnaire tool called Google Forms from Google company and

also, in person. It should be noted that through the contact of universities made

available on their websites, messages were sent via e-mail in which it was possible to

request assistance in the dissemination of the questionnaire to postgraduate stu-

dents or undergraduate students in Business Administration. It is estimated the

Where:

n = population

Z = chosen confidence level,

P = estimated proportion of people,

Q = (1-P)

e = maximum allowable error margin

sending of messages to approximately 30 universities in the state of Rio Grande do

Sul.

Lakatos and Marconi (2010) still comment on the questionnaire technique: it

consists of questions that must be answered and returned to the interviewer. The

authors also add the importance of always informing the nature of the research and

emphasize the importance of obtaining such answers, in order to encourage the re-

ceiver to complete and return the questionnaire in a good time frame. Therefore, the

questionnaire had two open questions so that, in case the researched did not opt for

pre-established cities and positions, could write their corresponding information. In

addition to having a Likert scale, where respondents were able to specify the degree

of agreement or disagreement in each statement (BECKER, 2015), with 1 = Strongly

Disagree, 2 = Disagree, 3 = Neither agree nor disagree, 4 = Agree and 5 = Totally

Agree.

The questionnaire was applied to 233 business administration graduates from

the state of Rio Grande do Sul from April to early May 2017. It was previously applied

to five individuals in order to compose the pre- Test. As basis for adaptation, the

study had the questionnaire from Stefaniczen, Stefano and Machado (2010) and the

scale of DUWAS Short-Version de Schaufeli (2006), based on the work of Del Líbano

et al (2010), and Carlotto and Miralles (2010).

Soon after obtaining the data, the data analysis stage started. In this step, Mal-

hotra (2012) teaches about univariate analysis: it is appropriate when there is a sin-

gle measurement element in the sample or, if there is more than one measure, can be

treated in isolated form. Hair et al (2009) explain the type of multivariate analysis,

which simultaneously analyze multiple measures and then when there are more than

two variables can be considered as multivariate. In this case, the type of analysis was

a factorial, since this analysis provides the tools to analyze the structure of interrela-

tionships (correlations) in a large number of variables (HAIR et al, 2009), starting to

a definition of set of variables, titled as factors. In this research, these two types of

analysis were used for the quantitative method, in addition to finishing with a gen-

eral analysis exploring the characteristics resulting from the study.

In this topic the results of the quantitative research will be presented, using

the univariate and multivariate technique of the factorial type. The main objective of

the research result is to answer the following question: “What are the characteristics

related to workaholic behavior in the bachelors of business administration of the

state of Rio Grande do Sul?”.

In this topic the questions are presented in insolated way and the data were

analyzed from each variable. Thus, the questionnaire began with seven questions in

order to define the profile of the respondent, the first two questions acted as a filter,

questioning whether it was graduated in administration and active in the labor mar-

ket. If the answers were negative, there was a message warning that there was no

Duty, pleasure or addiction? Study of worka-holic behavior in bachelors with business ad-
ministration degree

need to proceed with the questionnaire, therefore, only individuals with this pre-

established profile were analyzed, reaching 233 respondents.

The subsequent questions were related to age, gender, if they were registered

in the CRA/RS (Regional Board of Business Administration Bachelors) or not, city of

domicile and current position in company. After these, there were 27 questions on

the Likert scale. Therefore, for a better understanding, a single table was developed

that presents mean and standard deviation of each question. Sampieri, Collado and

Lucio (2010) teach that the mean is the most used central measure for data analysis

and comes from the sum of all values divided by number of cases. The result of the

analysis arises from the differences of averages between each question.

Table 1 – Mean values and standard deviations for scale questions (order of issue)

Question Mean
value

Standard
Deviation

1. The work I do brings me personal satisfaction 3,66 1,09

2. I get more excited about my work than about anything else 2,83 1,10

3. I work or read company documents during meals 2,71 1,28

4. Some people find my work schedule unusual 2,95 1,33

5. My work sometimes interferes on my free time 3,17 1,34

6. I often think about my work outside the office 3,65 1,21

7. I don’t have lunch / dinner to continue working 2,49 1,30

8. I rarely overload my schedule 2,82 1,13

9. I keep working after my co-workers invite me to leave 2,86 1,26

10. I feel that I cannot reduce my workload without compromising my

career

3,00 1,20

11. It is easy for me to delegate tasks to other people 3,50 1,10

12. I feel guilty when I take time out of work 2,55 1,21

13. I frequently cancel family and social events to meet deadlines 2,22 1,07

14. I think of work while listening to other people talking or when I’m

about to sleep

2,97 1,27

15. It seems I’m always in a hurry and running against the clock 3,27 1,19

16. It’s easy for me to relax when I’m not working. 3,35 1,15
17. I am not very competitive 2,61 1,17
18. I work on average more than 9 hours per day 3,06 1,34

19. I have already been sick because of work 2,92 1,39

20. I often do 2 or 3 things at the same time, such as: eating, typing and
talking on the phone

3,39 1,23

21. I am happy with my work habits 3,20 1,08

22. I am self-motivated about my work 3,41 1,12

23. I am perfectionist in my tasks 4,00 0,98

24. I have never given up any of my hobbies because of work 3,10 1,19

25. It’s important to me to work hard even when I do not like what I’m

doing

2,97 1,23

26. I arrive early at work and sometimes stay late and do more activities
than my job requires

3,04 1,27

27. My work isn’t very relevant 1,99 1,07

Source: Research data (2017)

This multivariate factorial analysis has as main objective to create new varia-

bles derived from the originals, and thus to separate them between factors that pre-

sent a relation between them. In this way, through the SPSS software and statistical

support, the group of questions that showed relation according to their factorial

loads was performed, because as described by Hair et al (2009), the factorial load

represents the correlation between an original variable and its factor. From these

factor loads, the variables were classified into groups, where they were distributed in

descending order.

According to table 2, in the first column, the statements contained in the ques-

tionnaire are shown in order of relevance of variables and the following columns are

separated by six factors: time, stress, motivation, illness, obsession and control.

Picture 2 – Questions grouped in factors with greater relation between each other
Factor 1 Factor 2 Factor 3 Factor 4 Factor 5 Factor 6

Some people find my work schedule unusual ,741 ,056 ,178 -,092 -,024 ,055

My work sometimes interferes on my free time ,723 ,293 ,095 ,069 -,186 ,074

I work on average more than 9 hours per day ,647 ,276 ,049 ,276 -,072 -,051

I keep working after my co-workers invite me to leave ,621 ,535 ,149 ,177 ,012 -,017

I arrive early at work and sometimes stay late and do more activities than my job requires ,618 ,224 ,043 ,423 ,029 -,135

I don’t have lunch / dinner to continue working ,576 ,475 ,105 ,189 -,007 -,031

I work or read company documents during meals ,569 ,176 ,250 ,196 ,104 -,186

I feel that I cannot reduce my workload without compromising my career ,463 ,452 ,303 ,082 ,128 ,007

I feel guilty when I take time out of work ,108 ,783 ,087 ,031 -,053 -,159

I frequently cancel family and social events to meet deadlines ,321 ,710 ,066 -,093 ,116 -,006

I think of work while listening to other people talking or when I’m about to sleep ,262 ,702 ,034 ,284 -,166 -,080

It seems I’m always in a hurry and running against the clock ,238 ,572 -,053 ,425 -,157 ,096

I often think about my work outside the office ,399 ,439 ,224 ,362 -,173 -,027

The work I do brings me personal satisfaction ,120 ,056 ,836 ,050 -,141 -,069

I am happy with my work habits ,022 -,064 ,805 -,085 ,231 ,132

I am self-motivated about my work ,215 ,205 ,767 ,084 -,079 ,157

I get more excited about my work than about anything else ,310 ,135 ,669 -,019 -,085 -,126

I am perfectionist in my tasks ,052 -,049 ,265 ,707 -,039 ,174

I often do 2 or 3 things at the same time, such as: eating, typing and talking on the phone ,229 ,295 -,144 ,629 -,182 -,059

It’s important to me to work hard even when I do not like what I’m doing ,086 ,125 -,065 ,626 ,234 -,279

I have already been sick because of work ,316 ,191 -,393 ,470 -,171 ,189

I am not very competitive ,153 ,026 -,066 -,120 ,663 ,086

I have never given up any of my hobbies because of work -,315 -,131 ,140 ,287 ,609 ,130

My work isn’t very relevant -,088 -,104 -,486 -,096 ,512 ,001

It is easy for me to delegate tasks to other people ,246 -,149 ,080 ,165 -,078 ,701

I rarely overload my schedule -,215 ,148 -,152 -,142 ,218 ,519

It’s easy for me to relax when I’m not working. -,234 -,211 ,148 -,090 ,291 ,512

Source: Research data (2017)

From this analysis, we established six factors that were determinant for the

grouping of these information: time, stress, motivation, illness, obsession and control.

The “time” factor was the one that most impacted through this analysis: it united

very similar issues pertinent to the period that respondents spend at work and how

this impacts on their personal and professional life, which can be observed through

questions, such as: “Some people consider my work schedule unusual” or “I feel I

cannot reduce my workload without compromising my career.” Malagris (2013)

emphasizes this issue of time as predominant in individuals who possess characteris-

tics of extreme dedication, hurry and great competitiveness.

“Time is money”, ” I do not like wasting time”, “not

enough time” are constantly spoken sentences by successful

people who deep down feel that it is a waste of time to

spend an hour talking to friends, going to a meeting at the

Duty, pleasure or addiction? Study of worka-holic behavior in bachelors with business ad-
ministration degree

school of their children or simply spend a few minutes en-

joying the beauty of nature. (…) The human side has to be

put aside because “there is no time for these things”.

(MALAGRIS, 2013, p. 21)

Further, Malagris (2013) complains that these symptoms and this lifestyle lead

to the belief that for the individual “this can be his own factory of stress” (MALAGRIS,

2013, p.26). This stress comes as the second factor of a set of variables and it is seen

here as a consequence of this way of seeing and treating work, when questions such

as “I think of work while I listen to other people talking or when I’m about to sleep”

and “It seems that I am always in a hurry and running against the clock” represent a

great workload in the individual, causing minor dysfunctions in the individual and/or

causing feelings such as fear, depression, nervousness and irritation. When these

feelings impact on the life of the collaborator, somewhat it ends up impacting on

their motivation, representing the third factor found in this analysis. As Marras

(2011) teaches, motivation is a force that stimulates people to find their satisfaction,

while motivation endures, satisfaction follows constant, which is able to be satisfac-

torily noted in the results of the analysis, questions such as: “The work I do brings me

personal satisfaction” and “I am self-motivated about my work” had a great com-

bined agreement in this factor. As these criteria are shown in the opposite way, they

end up generating unsatisfactory sensations.

Serva and Ferreira (2006) comment that this eternal dissatisfaction can char-

acterize workaholism and be related to perfectionism. In this way, the fourth factor,

illness, establishes a link with this characteristic, because questions “I am perfection-

ist in my tasks” and “I have already been sick because of work” presented a relation

between them. When there is a great commitment to their tasks, with long hours of

work, they end up leading to illness and high levels of stress. (SALANOVA et al, 2008).

Benevides-Pereira (2014) interprets this stress from work as occupational

stress. When it becomes chronic, it eventually ends up becoming a syndrome, called

burnout. This syndrome is closely linked to illness and has consequences in spheres

of life: personal, family, social and professional. There is also a decrease in the quality

of life of the worker, preventing the execution of his work to be well done, resulting

in occupational accidents and a high turnover in the organization.

The penultimate factor analyzed was called an obsession, where questions

such as “I am not very competitive” and “My work isn’t very relevant” had low

agreement of the interviewees. This factor can be linked to the high competitiveness

in the labor market and the persistence in being the best professional, and it causes

employees to exaggerate and end up looking at work as an obsession.

Finally, the last factor was titled as control, which means that employees al-

ways need to have control over situations, have difficulty delegating tasks and need

to master the environment (SALANOVA et al, 2008; SERVA; FERREIRA, 2006). In the

result of this research, little influence of these characteristics was observed, since the

question “It is easy for me to delegate tasks to other people”, for example, obtained

greater agreement of the respondents.

In this session, a general analysis of the research results was performed, in or-

der to contribute to the study of workaholic behavior. Thus, the results of the anal-

yses showed that there were some characteristics already cited by the authors, but

also other characteristics emerged, such as: versatility, fear, concern about global

crisis, poor time management, passion for work and availability, which, according to

the research and its results, were explained by the author. In general, these charac-

teristics indicate a possible work addiction, not meaning in fact that when all these

are found that determines that the individual will have a workaholic behavior, but

rather end up characterizing this profile.

It was noticed that in the application of questionnaire, the majority of re-

spondents have the work as a source of inspiration and personal motivation, but

them often end up presenting characteristics of work addiction, allowing to affect

their personal life and hours of entertainment. However, when the statements were

very emphatic in relation to workaholism, there was disagreement in greater num-

bers, and we can then assume that work is sometimes confused with pleasure, affect-

ing in a negative way and leaving aside their free time, time with family and recrea-

tion.

This study proposed an analysis of the general characteristics and occuring

situations of workaholic behavior, both socially and professionally, in the bachelor of

business administration in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, in order to respond to the

problem situation: what are the characteristics related to workaholic behavior in the

bachelors of business administration of the state of Rio Grande do Sul?

In this way, the general objective of this work was to analyze these characteris-

tics of the behavior in bachelors in administration and in a specific way aimed to

explore the influence of workaholism on the social and organizational life of individu-

als. The objective was also to apply a questionnaire2 in order to identify recurrent

habits of work addiction in the organizational environment. In order to reach these

goals, to know and understand the theme better, the theoretical context focused on

presenting details about the workaholic behavior itself, where concepts are com-

pared and where a parallel is made with another term, worklover.

The research itself was elaborated in the quantitative method. In this method,

the objective was reached through a questionnaire answered by bachelors in busi-

ness administration that obtained results on more detailed issues of daily life, with

recurrent situations and in a deeper way. What was noticed was a large majority

agreeing on issues such as: ” Some people find my work schedule unusual” and “My

work sometimes interferes with my free time”, which would characterize a possible

work addiction, but, in addition, also disagreed on issues such as “My work isn’t very

relevant” and “I have never given up any of my hobbies because of work” which

2 Based on the adaptation of the authors’ questionnaire Stefaniczen, Stefano and Machado
(2010) and the scale of DUWAS Short-Version from Schaufeli (2006). In addition, the
works of Del Líbano et al (2010), and Carlotto and Miralles (2010).

Duty, pleasure or addiction? Study of worka-holic behavior in bachelors with business ad-
ministration degree

means that there is a consensus among respondents that work is of great importance

in their lives. In general, characteristics that had already been mentioned by some

authors were found, and with the result of the research new characteristics were

discovered, such as: priorities, fear and concern about the global crisis. These charac-

teristics were evident in the two forms of analysis.

With this, it was possible to analyze that the result is uncertain about the an-

swer if the work is a pleasure or an addiction, since the concept of work is in the

subjective of each one: by necessity of financial resources, emotional issues, competi-

tiveness and professional growth, among other issues. Through the study it was pos-

sible to observe that the severity is when the work exceeds the limits and the indi-

vidual himself cannot see, generating consequences that come to affect interpersonal

relations, leisure and family. The availability of the bachelors with business admin-

istration degree throughout Rio Grande do Sul for the application of the question-

naire was one of the limitations for this study.

Finally, the authors leave as a suggestion for future research a expanded na-

tional study, not only at the state level, and also, extend from the area of business

administration to other areas of graduation. In addition, characteristics found in this

study can be used in order to perform tests and observation in organizations, with

the objective of identifying possible and/or future workaholics, it may be possible to

propose improvements in the process, attitudes and to search for a balance with

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Received: 09/10/2017

Approved: 10/10/2017

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