Workaholics tend to take on unnecessary work at the expense of teamwork.

Work "addiction" is a dispositional investment in work responsibilities instead of relationships.

Workaholics function best in autonomous, specialized jobs rather than collaborative projects.

Workaholism decreases investment in prosocial organizational citizenship behavior.

We all know someone we would characterize as a workaholic. In fact, many of these people self-identify as such. Although we view hard workers as valuable producers, there are other factors to consider. A quantity over quality mindset creates the possibility of mistakes, and “all work and no play” is a recipe for burnout. So, where do we draw the line?

Quantity Over Quality: A Question of Perception

Guido Alessandri et al. (2020) examined workaholism in a piece entitled “The Costs of Working Too Hard.”[i] They started by recognizing that although hard work yielding achievement is an intuitive link, research tends to depict workaholics as hard workers rather than smart workers.

Alessandri et al. define workaholism or work addiction as “a dispositional type of heavy work investment” causing employees to feel obligated to work........

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