Work addiction is associated with increased stress and reduced quality of life: Validation of the Bergen Work Addiction Scale in Danish.
Addiction to work is defined as a compulsion or an uncontrollable need to work incessantly. Only few measures exist to identify work addiction and the health consequences are sparsely explored. The Bergen Workaholic Scale (BWAS) measures seven core elements of work addiction and has been used in Norway, Hungary, Brazil, Italy, USA and Poland. The aim of this study was to validate the BWAS in a Danish sample and to investigate if high risk of work addiction was associated with stress and reduced quality of life. We conducted an online screening survey with 671 participants aged 16-68 years with the Danish translation of the BWAS. We added the perceived stress scale (PSS) and the quality of life scale EQ-5D-5L. Those with high risk of work addiction reported significantly higher mean PSS scores (20.0 points) compared to those with low risk of addiction (12.5 points) and poorer quality of life (61.9) compared to the low risk group (81.3). Furthermore, work addiction was associated with more weekly working hours (44.0 vs. 35.6 hours/week) and having more leadership responsibility. A preliminary estimate of work addiction prevalence was 6.6%. The BWAS demonstrated good reliability (α = 0.83), and factor analyses pointed at a single factor structure. Work addiction seems to be associated with health problems in terms of stress and poorer quality of life. The BWAS is recommended as a reliable and valid tool to identify work addiction in Danish.
['Lichtenstein|Mia Beck|MB|http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7885-9187', 'Malkenes|Maiken|M|', 'Sibbersen|Christian|C|', 'Hinze|Cecilie Juul|CJ|']
D000293:Adolescent D000328:Adult D000368:Aged D016739:Behavior, Addictive D003718:Denmark D004651:Employment D005260:Female D006801:Humans D008297:Male D008875:Middle Aged D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales D011594:Psychometrics D011788:Quality of Life D015203:Reproducibility of Results D013315:Stress, Psychological D014937:Work D055815:Young Adult
Addiction Stress quality of life Validation Bergen Work Addiction Scale