When Hard Work Becomes Harmful: Validating the International Work Addiction Scale (IWAS)
When Hard Work Becomes Harmful
We often praise long hours and constant productivity. But for some people, work stops being a choice and becomes a compulsion, one that can harm health, relationships, and wellbeing.
This pattern is known as work addiction or workaholism. While research on it is growing, it is still not formally recognised in diagnostic manuals.
That makes good measurement especially important.
What Is Work Addiction?
Work addiction is not just about working long hours or being highly committed. It involves a loss of control, where people feel driven to work even when it causes problems.
It reflects the same core features seen in other addictions and can show up in everyday life in ways like:
- Work taking over your thoughts, even when you are off work or trying to rest
- Needing to work more over time to feel satisfied
- Using work to cope with stress, anxiety, or low mood
- Trying to cut back but not being able to
- Feeling uncomfortable when not working
- Letting work crowd out relationships and rest
- Continuing to work despite negative effects on health
The International Work Addiction Scale was designed to capture these patterns in a short and theory based way.
What We Did
We validated two versions of the International Work Addiction Scale:
- the 7-item version
- the 5-item version
Data came from two UK samples, including a nationally representative group. Analyses focused on 764 employed adults.
We used both traditional and modern psychometric approaches to test how well the scale works.
What We Found
- Both versions captured a single underlying construct of work addiction
- The scales showed good reliability and worked as expected in relation to an established work addiction measure
- Scores related to other variables in ways that match theory
- The scale worked the same way for men and women, with no differences in underlying levels
- The 7 item version was especially informative for identifying moderate to higher levels of work addiction
- Items related to conflict, relapse, and real life problems were particularly useful
Why This Matters
Not all hard work is unhealthy. What distinguishes work addiction is compulsion, loss of control, and harm, not simply long hours or high enagement.
The International Work Addiction Scale offers a quick and reliable way to assess work addiction without confusing it with healthy work involvement.
In cultures where overwork is often normalised or rewarded, having a clear way to identify when work becomes harmful is an important step.
What’s Next
Work addiction is still an emerging area of research. Better measurement helps improve theory and supports future research on work and wellbeing.
The International Work Addiction Scale provides a validated tool for use in the UK. The full paper with detailed methods and results will be available soon.
Do you think overwork is normalised in your workplace? How should organisations respond when work becomes harmful? I would be interested to hear your thoughts.
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