The moderating effect of perceived value of off-job activities on the relation between workaholic tendency and engagement in off-job activities

Workaholism has become more prevalent in today’s society – more individuals experience negative effects of job stress (Oates, 1971; Taris, Schaufeli, & Verhoeven, 2005) and organisations’ productivities suffer (Cooper & Cartwright, 1994; Murphy, 1995). Therefore, understanding ways to facilitate recovery from job stress among workaholics is crucial. This study examines the moderating effect of perceived value of off-job activities in the relationship between workaholic tendency and off-job activity engagement. We hypothesize a negative relationship between workaholic tendency and engagement in physical and social off-job activities (Hypotheses 1 and 2). Based on the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB), we further hypothesize that the relationship between workaholic tendency and off-job activity engagement is moderated by perceived value of the activity, such that the relationship is weaker among those who perceive higher value of the activity than those who perceive less value (Hypotheses 3 and 4). Hypothesis 1 and 2 were unsupported by our data. Hypothesis 3 was supported, whereby perceived value of physical off-job activities moderated the relationship between workaholic tendency and physical off-job activity engagement. Hypothesis 4 was not supported as the relationship between workaholic tendency and social off-job activity engagement did not differ as a function of the perceived value of social off- job activities. These findings suggest that changing workaholics’ perceived value on physical activities may increase their engagement and reduce the negative impacts associated with workaholism. Given the high prevalence of workaholism in today’s world, this study calls for more research on the effective ways to achieve recovery among workaholics.Bachelor of Art