The Antecedents and Consequences of Workaholism: Findings From the Modern Japanese Labor Market

Satoshi Akutsu; Fumiaki Katsumura; Shohei Yamamoto

doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2022.812821

The Antecedents and Consequences of Workaholism: Findings From the Modern Japanese Labor Market

Front Psychol. 2022 Mar 15:13:812821. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.812821. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Satoshi Akutsu¹, Fumiaki Katsumura¹, Shohei Yamamoto¹

Affiliation

¹ School of International Corporate Strategy, Hitotsubashi University Business School, Tokyo, Japan.

Abstract

The present study examined the direct and indirect (via workaholism) relationships between competitive work environments and subjective unhealthiness. It also examined the effects of adjusting for cognitive distortions in the relationship between a competitive work environment and subjective unhealthiness and between a competitive work environment and workaholism. Data were collected from 9,716 workers in various industries, occupations, and positions. The results show that competitive work environments were positively related to subjective unhealthiness, both directly and through workaholism. Furthermore, cognitive distortions moderated the positive effect between a competitive work environment and workaholism, and the positive relationship was stronger when cognitive distortions were high (as compared to low). This study has important and practical implications for companies that are increasingly concerned about the health of their employees.

Keywords: cognitive distortions; competitive work environment; health management; learning theory; subjective health; trait activation theory; workaholism.