Exploring the Link between Work Addiction Risk and Health-Related Outcomes Using Job-Demand-Control Model

Frédéric Dutheil (1) , Morteza Charkhabi (2) , Hortense Ravoux (1) , Georges Brousse (3) , Samuel Dewavrin (4) , Thomas Cornet (4) , Laurie Mondillon (1) , Sihui Han (5) , Daniela Pfabigan (5) , Julien S Baker (6) , Martial Mermillod (7) , Jeannot Schmidt (3) , Fares Moustafa (3) , Bruno Pereira (3)

1 LAPSCO - Laboratoire de Psychologie Sociale et Cognitive
2 HSE - Vysšaja škola èkonomiki = National Research University Higher School of Economics [Moscow]
3 CHU Clermont-Ferrand
4 WittyFit
5 Peking University [Shenzhen]
6 HKBU - Hong Kong Baptist University
7 LPNC - Laboratoire de Psychologie et NeuroCognition

Purpose of the study: Work addiction risk is a growing public health concern with potential deleterious health-related outcomes. Perception of work (job demands and job control) may play a major role in provoking the risk of work addiction in employees. We aimed to explore the link between work addiction risk and health-related outcomes using the framework of job-demand-control model. Methods: Data were collected from 187 out of 1580 (11.8%) French workers who agreed to participate in a cross-sectional study using the WittyFit software online platform. The self-administered questionnaires were the Job Content Questionnaire by Karasek, the Work Addiction Risk Test, the Hospital Anxiety and Depression scale and socio-demographics. Data Analysis: Statistical analyses were performed using the Stata software (version 13). Results: There were five times more workers with a high risk of work addiction among those with strong job demands than in those with low job demands (29.8% vs. 6.8%, p = 0.002). Addiction to work was not linked to job control (p = 0.77), nor with social support (p = 0.22). We demonstrated a high risk of work addiction in 2.6% of low-strain workers, in 15.0% of passive workers, in 28.9% of active workers, and in 33.3% of high-strain workers (p = 0.010). There were twice as many workers with a HAD-Depression score ≥11 compared with workers at low risk (41.5% vs. 17.7%, p = 0.009). Sleep quality was lower in workers with a high risk of work addiction compared with workers with a low risk of work addiction (44.0 ± 27.3 vs. 64.4 ± 26.8, p < 0.001). Workers with a high risk of work addiction exhibited greater stress at work (68.4 ± 23.2 vs. 47.5 ± 25.1) and lower well-being (69.7 ± 18.3 vs. 49.3 ± 23.0) compared with workers at low risk (p < 0.001). Conclusions: High job demands are strongly associated with the risk of work addiction. Work addiction risk is associated with greater depression and poor quality of sleep. Preventive strategies should benefit from identifying more vulnerable workers to work addiction risk.

Mots clés: Workaholism; Work addiction risk; Mental health; Depression; Quality of sleep; Public health

Domaines: Psychologie et comportements; Santé publique et épidémiologie

Frédéric Dutheil, Morteza Charkhabi, Hortense Ravoux, Georges Brousse, Samuel Dewavrin, et al.. Exploring the Link between Work Addiction Risk and Health-Related Outcomes Using Job-Demand-Control Model. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 2020, 17 (20), pp.7594. ⟨10.3390/ijerph17207594⟩. ⟨hal-02983052⟩