Does motivation drive workaholism, or the other way round?
Workers whose basic psychological needs were met became more intrinsically motivated over time, but workaholism and engagement shaped later motivation rather than being caused by it.
Source
The Motivational Make-Up of Workaholism and Work Engagement: A Longitudinal Study on Need Satisfaction, Motivation, and Heavy Work Investment
Study at a glance
- Design
- Cohort — Two-wave online panel six months apart; cross-lagged structural equation models comparing stability, causal, reversed and reciprocal models.
- N
- N=314 · 314 employees who completed both waves and kept or changed (but did not lose) their job; 1,896 completed wave 1.
- Population
- Dutch employees recruited through a career-related website (convenience sample of mid-career adults)
- Outcome
- Workaholism (DUWAS), work engagement (UWES), types of motivational regulation (MWMS), basic need satisfaction
Structured fields used in claim comparison tables when every cited study has a complete layer.
What they did
Dutch employees answered an online survey twice, six months apart, and 314 people with usable data at both times were analysed. The survey measured satisfaction of the needs for autonomy, competence and relatedness, four types of work motivation from self-determination theory (external, introjected, identified and intrinsic), workaholism and work engagement. Cross-lagged structural equation models tested which variables at time 1 predicted changes in others at time 2, and in which direction.
What they found
Need satisfaction at time 1 predicted more intrinsic motivation and less external and introjected (guilt- or ego-driven) motivation six months later, while motivation did not predict later need satisfaction. Contrary to the hypotheses, motivation did not predict later workaholism or engagement; instead workaholism predicted more introjected and less intrinsic motivation, and engagement predicted more identified and intrinsic motivation. Need satisfaction did not predict later workaholism or engagement, so the proposed mediation chain was not supported.
The limits
What it doesn't show
It is a convenience sample from a career website with heavy drop-out between waves (about 81% non-response), and completers were older and more educated, so results may not generalise. Everything was self-reported, and cross-lagged effects were small because the variables were highly stable over six months. Two waves cannot fully test mediation, and a reciprocal model fitted almost as well, so the 'reversed' direction is a preference for parsimony rather than proof.
Key terms
- Self-determination theory (SDT)
- A theory proposing that satisfying needs for autonomy, competence and relatedness fosters more self-endorsed, intrinsic motivation.
- Introjected regulation
- Motivation driven by internal pressure such as guilt, shame or the need to prove one's worth.
- Identified regulation
- Motivation because one personally values the importance of an activity, even if it is not enjoyable in itself.
- Workaholism vs work engagement
- Workaholism is compulsive, excessive working; engagement is an energised, dedicated and absorbed positive state at work.
- Cross-lagged panel model
- A two-or-more-wave analysis testing whether X at time 1 predicts Y at time 2 (and vice versa), controlling for each variable's own stability.
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Quiz yourself
What did need satisfaction predict over six months?
Common questions
Why is the reversed direction interesting?
SDT assumes motivation comes first and drives behaviour, but here workaholism and engagement predicted later motivation, suggesting how people work may reshape why they work.
Does this prove workaholism causes loss of intrinsic motivation?
No. The cross-lagged design is stronger than a single survey, but it is still observational, the effects are small, and a model with effects in both directions fitted nearly as well.
What practical implication do the authors draw?
Managers might support autonomy, competence and relatedness, for example by explaining the purpose of tasks, offering choices and giving positive feedback, to foster intrinsic motivation.
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