BackgroundAlthough research on unfinished tasks began almost a century ago, the mechanisms through which unfinished tasks are related to sleep quality are not well-known.ObjectiveBuilding on previous studies but focusing on a new mediator, the aim of this study was to ascertain whether unfinished tasks may act as a workplace stressor and negatively impact subjective ease of falling asleep through the experience of negative emotions at work.MethodBy conducting a diary study, the hypothesized relationships were investigated in a sample of 126 employees followed for 10 consecutive working days. Multilevel structural equation modeling was used to estimate the hypothesized relationships at the within-person and the between-person levels of analysis.ResultsResults showed that unfinished tasks were negatively related to subjective ease of falling asleep through the experience of negative emotions at work at both levels.ConclusionsIn brief, our findings uncover one of the mechanisms linking unfinished tasks to employees' subjective ease of falling asleep, revealing that the observed relationships operate at the within-person and the between-person levels of analysis.

Among the most important outcomes related to workaholism for its implications for both organizations and employees is job performance. However, previous studies that have analyzed this relationship report inconsistent results. Drawing on achievement motivation theory and the work, non-work, and sleep model, the present study aims to understand why workaholism is related to job performance through two opposing paths: a motivational path, in which workaholism is indirectly and positively related to job performance via work engagement, and a recovery path, where workaholism is indirectly and negatively related to job performance through poor sleep quality. The hypothesized relationships were investigated by testing a structural equation model with Mplus 8 on 389 Italian workers (60.9

Recently, Loscalzo and Giannini have proposed Studyholism as a possible new clinical condition, highlighting its potential antecedents and outcomes. The present study investigates the moderating role of Internet addiction in the relationship between Studyholism, academic exhaustion and insomnia. Three hundred and eighteen Italian university students (85.50% female; mean age = 22.98 ± 4.34) participated in the survey during the third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. The two moderation models were tested using the structural equation model with Mplus 7. Results showed a significant direct effect of Studyholism on both academic exhaustion and insomnia and also confirmed the moderating role of Internet addiction in the aforementioned relationships. Although there is a linear relationship between Studyholism and the outcomes, at lower levels of Internet addiction, there is a greater effect of Studyholism on both academic exhaustion and insomnia than at medium and high levels of Internet addiction. Based on these findings, we suggest screening students who report insomnia and academic exhaustion for both Internet addiction and Studyholism, as they might both contribute to these negative health-related aspects.

In the current study we replicated and extended the validation of the Multidimensional Workaholism Scale through: 1) the examination of the relationship between the MWS and the Bergen Work Addiction Scale; 2) the test of measurement invariance of the U.S. and the Italian versions; and 3) the analysis of predictive validity of the MWS through a series of cross-lagged panel models on a two-wave Italian sample (N = 304), including work-family conflict and emotional exhaustion. Configural, metric and partial scalar invariance was achieved on a sample of 591 Italian and 313 U.S. workers. Results supported convergent, discriminant, and predictive validity of the Italian version. Evidence of the predictive role of workaholism was found in relation to work-family conflict and emotional exhaustion. Finally, the different dimensions demonstrated some incremental validity in the prediction of specific outcomes over and above other dimensions of the MWS. In sum, we provided additional evidence of the validity of the MWS, which represents a tool for researchers and practitioners, validating its use in Italy to better understand the workaholism phenomenon.

In recent years, there has been an increase in workaholism. Past research investigating the relationship between sociodemographic factors and workaholism reported inconsistent results regarding differences in levels of workaholism, both between males and females and between age groups. The aim of this study is twofold: to further contribute to the validation of the Multidimensional Workaholism Scale (MWS) in the Italian context, with a focus on measurement invariance across gender and age, and to explore gender and age disparities in workaholism levels. The participants were 2,435 workers who completed an online self-report questionnaire. Structural equation modelling with confirmatory factorial analysis, multi-group confirmatory factorial analysis and latent means analysis were used. The results confirmed the four-factor structure of the MWS in the Italian context. In addition, the configural, metric and scalar invariance of the MWS was achieved across gender and age. Finally, a latent means examination showing the latent means of the MWS subdimensions (motivational, cognitive, emotional and behavioural) were equivalent across gender groups. Concerning age, results showed that younger people had lower means on the behavioural dimension and higher means on the emotional dimension of the MWS compared to middle-aged or older workers. Moreover, the study's limitations and future perspectives are discussed.

While university students have experienced increased stress, anxiety, and study obsession (studyholism) during the COVID-19 emergency, supportive university environments and academic self-efficacy (ASE) were found to be protective factors. However, the perception of overstudying could have impaired ASE's protection against studyholism, akin to workaholism. Following the job-demands resource model, this contribution examines the moderating roles of study load and teaching staff support in the relationship between ASE and exhaustion, mediated by studyholism. 6736 students from 11 universities (69.8% females; Mean age 24.67 years) completed a self-report survey concerning various academic and life aspects. Results showed that ASE was partially mediated by studyholism in its negative relationship with exhaustion. Both study load and support moderate this relationship, although the interaction effect between studyholism and ASE is positive. Nonetheless, ASE plays a protective role for all levels of study load and support, while studyholism is confirmed to have a significant impact on exhaustion, both directly and through its mediating role. Considering the high scores of both studyholism and exhaustion in this sample, the enhancement of ASE should be complemented by teacher support centered around opportunities to review study strategies with the students and strong attention to preventive measures, such as in itinerant evaluation, which could enhance both the perception of positive support and strengthen ASE.

Studies on sleep during the Covid‐19 pandemic have mostly been conducted during the first wave of contagion (spring 2020). To follow up on two Italian studies addressing subjective sleep features during the second wave (autumn 2020), here we assess sleep during the third wave (spring 2021) in a sample of healthy adults from Campania (Southern Italy). Actigraphic data (on 2 nights) and the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index were collected from 82 participants (40 F, mean age: 32.5 ± 11.5 years) from 11 March to 18 April 2021, when Campania was classified as a “red zone”, i.e. it was subjected to strict restrictions, only slightly looser than those characterizing the first national lockdown (spring 2020). Although objective sleep duration and architecture appeared in the normal range, the presence of disrupted sleep was indexed by a relevant degree of sleep fragmentation (number of awakenings ≥ 1 min: 12.7 ± 6.12; number of awakenings ≥ 5 min: 3.04 ± 1.52), paralleled by poor subjective sleep quality (Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index global score: 5.77 ± 2.58). These data suggest that the relevant subjective sleep impairments reported during the first wave could have relied on subtle sleep disruptions that were undetected by the few objective sleep studies from the same period. Taken together with sleep data on previous phases of the pandemic, our findings show that the detrimental effects on sleep determined by the initial pandemic outbreak have not abated across the subsequent waves of contagion, and highlight the need for interventions addressing sleep health in global emergencies.

Research is needed to understand the effects that perfectionism may have in the occupational sector and whether its implications vary cross-nationally. In the current study the relationship of perfectionism on workaholism and work engagement was assessed through multiple groups structural equations models to compare strengths of association in the two countries after measurement invariance was examined for the measures in a sample of 804 U.S. and Italian participants. Evidence of similarities but also some differences were found between the countries. In particular, perfectionistic strivings was similarly related to workaholism in both the countries, whereas it was more strongly related to work engagement in Italy than in U.S. A statistically significant difference for work engagement (Italians more engaged that Americans) was also found, whereas no differences were found for workaholism. Cross-sectional nature of the study and culture used as a proxy is the main limitations. However, the cross-cultural approach adopted in the current study allowed us to report that evidence provided in a country might not be directly applied to another country, even if cultures are quite similar.

Workaholism is a work-related addiction, and the study of its antecedents has a strong individual and social impact. Several studies reported high trait perfectionism in individuals exhibiting workaholism. Although the relationship between perfectionism and workaholism is quite consistent in the literature, it is not yet clear which biological underlying mechanisms might explain this relationship. From a chronopsychological perspective, it has been widely demonstrated that evening-type individuals are more prone to develop addictive behaviour. In the present study, we investigated, for the first time, the role of circadian typology in the relationship between perfectionistic concerns and workaholism. A group of Italian workers (N = 369; 60.70% females; mean age of 38.60 years) took part in a survey. Participants filled in the Bergen Work Addiction Scale (for workaholism), the Morningness-Eveningness Questionnaire (for circadian typology), and the Short Almost-Perfect Scale (for perfectionism). In addition to age, we controlled for workload using the Job Content Questionnaire. Beyond the confirmation of the relationship between perfectionism and workaholism, we found that in high perfectionistic individuals, evening-types reported higher score in Bergen Work Addiction Scale. Based on these findings, limitations and suggestions for future research are discussed.

Although remote working can involve positive outcomes both for employees and organizations, in the case of the sudden and forced remote working situation that came into place during the COVID-19 crisis there have also been reports of negative aspects, one of which is technostress. In this context of crisis, leadership is crucial in sustainably managing and supporting employees, especially employees with workaholic tendencies who are more prone to developing negative work and health outcomes. However, while research on the role of the positive aspects of leadership during crises does exist, the negative aspects of leadership during the COVID-19 crisis have not yet been studied. The present study aimed to explore the role of authoritarian leadership in a sample of 339 administrative university employees who worked either completely from home or from home and the workplace. The study examined the moderating effect of a manager on this relationship and the connections between workaholism and technostress through conditional process analysis. Results pointed out that high authoritarian leadership had an enhancing effect, whereas low authoritarian leadership had a protective effect on the relationship between workaholism and technostress, only in the group of complete remote workers. Thus, authoritarian leadership should be avoided and training leaders to be aware of its effect appears to be essential. Limitations, future directions for the study, and practical implications are also discussed.

Decision-making autonomy may have played a crucial role in protecting, or on the contrary, intensifying the onset of negative psychological outcomes for workers with roles with responsibilities during the lockdown due to the Covid-19 crisis. The present study analyzed the emotional dimension of workaholism in relation to emotional exhaustion, considering decision-making autonomy as a moderator of this relationship, in a sample of 101 managers and freelancers in the middle of the lockdown in Italy (early April 2020). Results showed that the relationship between negative (workaholic) emotions and emotional exhaustion was moderated by decision-making autonomy and this moderation differed for managers and freelancers. In particular, the results showed that in the target of managers high levels of negative emotional experiences related to workaholism and low decision-making autonomy are associated with higher levels emotional exhaustion, while high levels of emotional experiences linked to workaholism and high decision-making autonomy produced significantly lower levels of emotional exhaustion. On the contrary, low levels of job autonomy were associated to higher level of emotional exhaustion when negative (workaholic) emotions were low for the freelancers. Limitations are related to the limited sample and the cross-sectional nature of the study. Practical implications lie in considering decision-making autonomy as a double-edged sword, such that when low it could be a risk for managers and when high it could be a risk for freelancers.

Recent contributions have reported sleep disorders as one of the health impairment outcomes of workaholism. A possible factor affecting the sleep-wake cycle might be the intensive use of smartphones. The current study aimed to explore the role of intensive smartphone use in the relationship between workaholism and the sleep-wake cycle. Two serial multiple mediation models were tested on a sample of 418 employees, who filled self-report questionnaires measuring workaholism, use of smartphones, sleep quality and daytime sleepiness, using conditional process analysis for testing direct and indirect effects. Results supported our hypotheses regarding two serial multiple mediation models-that intensive smartphone use and poor sleep quality mediated the relationship between workaholism and daytime sleepiness, and that smartphone use and daytime sleepiness mediated the relationship between workaholism and poor quality of sleep. Although the use of a cross-sectional design and the snowball technique for collecting data can be considered as possible limitations, the current study is one of the first to document the potential detrimental role of the intensive smartphone use on the workaholism-sleep disorders relationship.