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Research suggests perfectionism and work motivation contribute to workaholism

Date:
August 29, 2013
Source:
University of Kent
Summary:
Psychologists suggest that being a perfectionist and highly motivated at work contributes directly to being a workaholic.
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Research from psychologists at the University of Kent suggests that being a perfectionist and highly motivated at work contributes directly to being a workaholic. This work is published in the journal Personality and Individual Differences.

Led by Dr Joachim Stoeber, Head of the University's School of Psychology, the research team set out to explore the previously under-researched reasons why some people feel the need to work both excessively and compulsively.

Dr Stoeber and his team researched the links between workaholism and two forms of perfectionism: self-oriented perfectionism, whereby someone sets exceedingly high standards for themselves, and socially-prescribed perfectionism, whereby someone feels that others have high standards and that acceptance by others is conditional on fulfilling these standards.

Among their findings, they discovered that self-oriented perfectionists showed significantly higher levels of workaholism. This was partly due to this group being motivated by a number of internal and external drivers -- such as self-control and rewards -- that push them towards workaholism. In contrast, socially-prescribed perfectionists were not likely to become workaholics.

Dr Stoeber said: 'Our findings suggest that self-oriented perfectionism and work motivation contribute to workaholism, whereas socially prescribed perfectionism does not.

'Our findings also suggest that workaholism in self-oriented perfectionists is driven by those types of motivation characterized by personal importance and ego involvement as well as being motivated by internal rewards and punishment.'


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Materials provided by University of Kent. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.


Journal Reference:

  1. Joachim Stoeber, Charlotte R. Davis, Jessica Townley. Perfectionism and workaholism in employees: The role of work motivation. Personality and Individual Differences, 2013; 55 (7): 733 DOI: 10.1016/j.paid.2013.06.001

Cite This Page:

University of Kent. "Research suggests perfectionism and work motivation contribute to workaholism." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 29 August 2013. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/08/130829110423.htm>.
University of Kent. (2013, August 29). Research suggests perfectionism and work motivation contribute to workaholism. ScienceDaily. Retrieved March 28, 2024 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/08/130829110423.htm
University of Kent. "Research suggests perfectionism and work motivation contribute to workaholism." ScienceDaily. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/08/130829110423.htm (accessed March 28, 2024).

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