Workaholics and overworkers: productivity or pathology?

Since the late 1980s, there has been strong popular interest in the subject of working hours and in the so-called workaholic. There has been less interest in the academic literature on the subject of long working hours and the motivations of those who work beyond the limits of what is necessary. This study proposes a typology of those who put in excessive time and effort by introducing a second dimension: equity of perceived rewards. The new dimension points to another group alongside workaholics: overworkers. One hundred seventy-four managers and professionals with master of business administration degrees rated themselves on work and reward dimensions and provided data about work behaviors, rewards, attitudes, and job progression as part of a longitudinal study. Overworkers and workaholics were found to differ on a number of dimensions. Implications for these groups, including their potential roles in the context of boundaryless careers, and for the organizations that employ them are discussed