The purpose of this paper is to offer a counter‐intuitive conceptual framework to the study and the management of workaholism. The paper proposes that the phenomenon can be constructive, generating welcoming outcomes for individuals, organizations and societies.
A set of propositions about workaholism and its management under various contexts is presented and discussed.
Workaholics should not be labeled as problematic addicts. Workaholism should not be automatically taken as negative and be suppressed. If the culture is positive towards workaholism, offer alternatives.
The framework has a number of practical implications such as reconsidering the negative stigmatization of workaholic employees.
The framework should be useful for managers in dealing with workaholics at work.
The paper develops a framework that enables “out of the box” thinking of workaholism.
