Internal and external validation of the Dutch Work Addiction Risk Test: Implications for job strain and work-nonwork conflict

This research deals with the measurement and consequences of workaholism in the Netherlands. Study I describes the development and validation of a Dutch version of Robinson's (1999) Work Addiction Risk Scale (WART). Confirmatory factor analysis (total N = 356) revealed that the factorial structure of the Dutch WART was similar to that of the US original. Study 2 (N = 232) examined whether the Compulsive Tendencies (CT) subscale of the WART could be used as a short measure of workaholism. The overlap between the full 25-item WART and the CT subscale was high, whereas the patterns of correlations with other concepts were very similar. Study 3 (N = 199) tested a process model for the effects of workaholism (i.e., CT) on exhaustion and work-nonwork conflict, showing that workaholism affected these two outcome variables both directly and indirectly (via perceived job demands). It is concluded that: (i) the Dutch version of the WART is very similar to the US original; (ii) the WART and the CT subscale are both valid measures of workaholism; and (iii) workaholism is a potentially important concept in the study of work and stress.