Workaholism in engineers: Prevalence and associated factors

Abstract

IntroductionWorkaholism is an emerging form of behavioural addiction encountered in the workplace. The present study aims to assess the prevalence and the associated factors of this phenomenon in engineers. MethodsA cross sectional survey was conducted for two months by means of an online questionnaire of engineers practising in Tunisia. The evaluation of workaholism was based on the WART questionnaire (Work Addiction Risk Test). ResultsA total of 107 engineers have answered the questionnaire. The mean age of participants was 29.2±4.4 years. Computer engineers represented 32.7% of our sample. Most of engineers worked more than 8hours per day (45.8%) and less than 6 days per week (63.6%). A high risk of workaholism was noted in 42.1% of cases. Statistical analysis showed that workaholism was not associated with socio-demographic characteristics. However, it was associated with smoking cigarettes, psychotropic drug consumption and poly-addiction and inversely associated with the presence of a leisure activity. With regard to occupational factors, workaholism was associated with agronomic engineering, working more than 8hours per day, working the whole week and a job satisfaction score under 5/10. ConclusionWorkaholism interested a significant proportion of this sample, and several professional factors could increase the likelihood of adopting this behaviour. The intervention of occupational doctors seems important in order to raise awareness about this form of addiction and to identify its early signs among employees.