Is Narcissism Associated with Heavy Work Investment? The Moderating Role of Workload in the Relationship between Narcissism, Workaholism, and Work Engagement

Alessandra Falco, Damiano Girardi, Annamaria Di Sipio, Vincenzo Calvo, Cristina Marogna and Raphael Snir
Additional contact information
Alessandra Falco: FISPPA Section of Applied Psychology, University of Padova, 35131 Padova, Italy
Damiano Girardi: FISPPA Section of Applied Psychology, University of Padova, 35131 Padova, Italy
Annamaria Di Sipio: FISPPA Section of Applied Psychology, University of Padova, 35131 Padova, Italy
Vincenzo Calvo: FISPPA Section of Applied Psychology, University of Padova, 35131 Padova, Italy
Cristina Marogna: FISPPA Section of Applied Psychology, University of Padova, 35131 Padova, Italy
Raphael Snir: School of Management and Economics, The Academic College of Tel Aviv-Yaffo, P.O.B 8401, Tel Aviv-Yaffo 6818211, Israel

IJERPH, 2020, vol. 17, issue 13, 1-23

Abstract: This study aimed to investigate the association between narcissism and two forms of heavy work investment, namely, workaholism and work engagement. More specifically, it was hypothesized that narcissism is positively associated with both workaholism and work engagement, with workload moderating these relationships, which are expected to be stronger when the workload is high. Overall, 217 workers completed a self-report questionnaire, and the hypothesized relationships were tested using moderated multiple regression. Results partially supported our predictions. Narcissism was positively associated with workaholism and its dimensions of working excessively and working compulsively only in individuals facing a high workload. Furthermore, narcissism was positively associated with work engagement and its dimensions of vigor and dedication (but no absorption) in employees with average levels of workload. Finally, the workload exacerbated the relationship between narcissism and work engagement and its dimensions so that these associations were stronger when the workload was high. Overall, our study suggested that in a work environment characterized by moderate levels of demand, individuals with strong narcissistic components might inherently feel energetic and dedicated (i.e., engaged) at work. Differently, in a demanding work environment, workers with high narcissism might experience higher work engagement, but they could also be at risk of workaholism.

Keywords: narcissism; workaholism; work engagement; workload; moderation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (8)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/17/13/4750/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/17/13/4750/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:17:y:2020:i:13:p:4750-:d:379208

Access Statistics for this article

IJERPH is currently edited by Ms. Jenna Liu

More articles in IJERPH from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().