Predictors of work addiction in workers who use information and communication technologies

Workaholism is defined by the combination of overwork and the need to constantly work, which can result in individual's physical and psychosomatic problems. This topic has been receiving special attention from the scientific community, since workaholism could gradually make individuals lose emotional control over their occupational demands. Thus, the present study aimed to verify whether sociodemographic and labor characteristics, technostress and life satisfaction predict workaholism in professionals who use Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) at their work. This is an observational analytical cross-sectional study, and the sample is constituted by 88 participants who use ICT. The results showed that the dimensions of technostress explain workaholism, corroborating theoretical models that show an association between the overuse of technology and a higher tendency to develop workaholism. The dimension anxiety related to the use of ICT showed higher explanatory power for the dimensions of workaholism: excessive work and compulsive work. Regarding the dimension excessive work, it was found that disbelief about the use of ICT explains, along with anxiety, the behavior of overwork. These findings' implications may have particular importance in the implementation and reorganization of work routines, workers' health policies, as well as in the field of prevention, and clinical and psychosocial intervention.