Work Motivation Patterns Underlying Workaholism Components

Authors

  • Ronald J. Burke
    York University, Toronto, Canada
  • Stig Berge Matthiesen
    University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway

Abstract

This study examined motivation patterns associated with workaholism components (work involvement, feeling driven to work, joy in work) identified by Spence and Robbins (1992). Data were collected from 211 Norwegian journalists using anonymous self-report questionnaires. Two motivation patterns were considered: intrinsic and extrinsic. Journalists scoring higher on intrinsic motivations reported greater work involvement and greater work enjoyment; journalists scoring higher on extrinsic motivations reported lower work enjoyment. The motivation patterns were independent of levels of feeling driven to work because of internal needs.