Workaholism: Contingential radiography of an addiction

Abstract

The contingency language developed by Mechner (2008) is proposed for examining variables responsible for production and maintenance of addictive behavior for work. Three associated terms are examined: workaholism, burnout and passion for work from specialized literature in the field of Health and Organization Psychology. A diagram with symbolic elements is presented to facilitate visual detection of iterative relationships that maintain these tendencies at different stages, the first where the employee exhibits an intense rhythm of work in the absence of stimulus control that prevents detachment from work, even outside working hours. Positive and negative consequences at different scenarios are depicted, as a result of this life style, to be followed by a major health crisis that leads to rehabilitation. As a conclusion the use of contingency diagrams is proposed for the interdisciplinary study of workaholic behavior, that will aid in the prevention of this health problem.