A heavy work investment typology: a biopsychosocial framework

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to apply a biopsychosocial model to develop an integrated typology of heavy work investment (HWI) behaviors. Design/methodology/approach – The paper follows an inductive approach to theory building in which we review relevant constructs, categorize those constructs, and outline the relationships among them. Findings – The paper provides a theoretically grounded typology of HWI that distinguishes three general types of HWI (workaholic HWI, situational HWI, and pseudo HWI) and nine corresponding HWI manifestations. It is suggested that various forms of HWI differ in nature according to the joint interplay of varying strengths of biological, psychological, and social influences. The paper also demonstrates how the typology can be applied to predict unique individual and organizational outcomes associated with each HWI sub-type. Research limitations/implications – The paper offers a unified strong foundation for developing HWI measures. It offers a direction for future research that will examine antecedents and outcomes of the nine sub-types. It provokes the examination of the “stability” of each HWI manifestation over time by including a temporal component into the biopsychosocial framework. Practical implications – This research will help practitioners differentiate among HWI manifestations to effectively sustain positive outcomes and proactively evade negative outcomes associated with HWI. Originality/value – To date, various manifestations of HWI and workaholism have been discussed in the literature with little unification across studies. In this paper, the authors respond to the call for a theoretically grounded approach that will provide unifying explanations to why and how HWI manifests.