REEK'S 'PSYCHOLOGICAL INSTRUMENTS' Work addiction, a concept measured

Workaholism Work addiction or workaholism is defined as the uncontrollable need to work excessively hard. Based on this definition, the DUWAS (Dutch Workaholism Scale) is introduced, a brief two-dimensional self-report instrument that includes two correlated subscales of five items each: Working Excessively (WE) and Working Compulsively (WC). Using a national Dutch database (n = 11.060) cut-off scores were computed that allow a classification of levels of workaholism. Analyses (n = 1.166) reveal that particularly the combination of high scores on both WE and CW is unfavorable. It is concluded that the DUWAS is a reliable and valid inventory that can, for instance, be used as a screening tool to identify workaholic employees.