Work Addiction: When Work Stops Working for Us

This talk presents findings from the Global Research on Work Addiction project, the largest international study of work addiction to date. Spanning 91 countries and territories across six continents, the project brings together a global network of researchers to examine work addiction as a complex and multidimensional phenomenon.

Adopting a multi-level perspective, the presentation explores how micro-level (individual), meso-level (organizational), and macro-level (cultural and economic) factors interact to shape work addiction and its consequences. This framework helps explain not only why individuals may become addicted to work, but also why the phenomenon varies across countries, industries, and work settings, reflecting the influence of workplace cultures, economic pressures, and social norms that reward overwork.

A key contribution of the project is the development of the International Work Addiction Scale, which enables valid and reliable cross-national comparisons. Drawing on this measure and large-scale international data, the project demonstrates that work addiction shares core features with other behavioral addictions, such as salience, mood modification, relapse, and related problems.

The talk concludes by considering implications for both research and practice, with particular attention to sustainable work patterns, boundary management, and healthier conceptions of productivity. It invites reflection on how work can be structured in ways that support, rather than compromise, individual and organizational well-being.