Bergen, Norway. Researchers have developed and applied The Bergen Work Addiction Scale, showing that it reliably differentiates between workaholics and non-workaholics.

A number of studies show that work addiction has been associated with insomnia, health problems, burnout and stress as well as creating conflict between work and family life.


In the wake of globalisation, new technology and blurred boundaries between work and private life, we are witnessing an apparent increase in work addiction. Some people seem driven to work excessively and compulsively. Often considered work addicts (or workaholics), there has been no way to confirm this with the standardized application of diagnostic criteria to determine of the core elements of addiction are present.

The Bergen Work Addiction Scale

There are seven basic criteria used to identify work addiction:

●  You think of how you can free up more time to work.

●  You spend much more time working than initially intended.

●  You work in order to reduce feelings of guilt, anxiety, helplessness and depression.

●  You have been told by others to cut down on work without listening to them.

●  You become stressed if you are prohibited from working.

●  You deprioritize hobbies, leisure activities, and exercise because of your work.

●  You work so much that it has negatively influenced your health.

All items are scored on the following scale: (1) Never, (2) Rarely, (3) Sometimes, (4) Often, and (5) Always.

Andreassen's study shows that scoring of Often or Always on at least four of the seven items may suggest that you are a workaholic.As reported in the Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, researchers from Norway and the United Kingdom have developed the new instrument to add value to work addiction research and practice. The Bergen Work Addiction Scale was developed at the Faculty of Psychology, University of Bergen (UiB) in collaboration with the Bergen Clinics Foundation, Norway, and Nottingham Trent University, UK.



Cecilie Schou Andreassen, PhD., is Associate Senior Consultant at Right Management, Owner/Director at Schou Andreassen Consulting, and an Associate Researcher in Psychology at the University of Bergen (UiB).

Photo courtesy of
Ole Kristian Olsen.Cecilie Schou Andreassen, a psychologist at the University of Bergen (UiB), leads the team, leveraging her background as a clinical psychologist specialist. Also, she has become familiar with the real-life implications of work addiction during her work as a consultant for the private sector.

By testing themselves with the scale, people can find out their degree of work addiction: non-addicted, mildly addicted or workaholic, Andreassen explains.

12,135 Norwegian employees from 25 different industries participated in development activities. The scale was administered to two cross-occupational samples and reflects the seven core elements of addiction:

1.  salience,
2.  mood modification,
3.  tolerance,
4.  withdrawal,
5.  conflict,
6.  relapse, and
7.  problems.

The results show the scale as reliably differentiating between workaholics and non-workaholics.

Since the scale is a standardized tool, the developers think it could facilitate treatment and estimates of work addiction prevalence in the general population worldwide.