Dysfunctional Family Mechanisms, Internalized Parental Values, and Work Addiction: A Qualitative Study

Abstract

(1) Background: Work addiction is a syndrome characterized by excessive and compulsive work disturbing one’s health and personal and social life. Several quantitative studies investigated the correlates of work addiction, but the personal experiences of workaholics remained hidden. Our qualitative research explores the perceived parental style and childhood family climate of individuals affected by work addiction. (2) Method: Based on our previous research, we invited 29 individuals (48,3% females) at risk for work addiction based on a work addiction scale. Semi-structured interviews have addressed topics of working habits, work addiction, social relationships, and their early family experiences. The texts were analyzed by qualitative thematic analysis using both deductive and inductive methods. (3) Results: The interviewees were affected by dysfunctional family mechanisms, i.e., lack of sense of security at home and addictions in the family. The participants reported that internalized parental values (transferred values and work attitudes, high expectations, and compulsion to conform) contributed to their later compulsive overwork. (4) Conclusions: Qualitative research can help to emphasize the individuals’ own experiences about the development of their work addiction. Dysfunctional family mechanisms and parental values might be significant risk factors for the work addiction of an offspring.

1. Introduction

Even though work addiction is receiving more and more attention both among the laity and in the scientific community, it is difficult to find a clear consensus in the conceptualization of the construct and in the positive and negative outcomes of the phenomenon [1]. As a result of a recent debate on the topic of work addiction, experts of the field agreed that work addiction is not solely the result of a special combination of individual personal components, but it involves macro-, meso- and microlevel factors [2]. It is also known that this increasingly prevalent behavioral addiction may manifest itself in, among other things, the disruption of work–life balance, which has been confirmed by several studies [3,4]. Although there is growing attention on the research on work addiction, still very few studies are involved, and asked individuals affected by work addiction. We know even less about how these individuals personally report their experiences, symptoms, and related factors. Extremely little qualitative research has been conducted to date, and this is also true for exploring the relationships between work addiction and social relationships [5,6]. The present study aims to phenomenologically examine and analyze the experiences of individuals involved in work addiction based on retrospective reports, specifically focusing on their family relationships.

1.1. Work Addiction

Globalization and the rise of modern technology have given way to the blurring of the boundaries between work and private life, which has drawn the attention of many authors (e.g., Fassel [7], Machlowitz [8]) to research the growing degree of work addiction. At the same time, there has been an increased concern about the effects of long working hours and excessive work [9,10]. The topic’s relevance is also confirmed by the data showing a prevalence of 7–10% of work addiction in a Norwegian, Hungarian, and German representative sample [11,12,13,14]. In other countries, applying different work addiction measures, higher prevalence rates were found in representative population studies: 20.7% of the Polish employees [15] and 39.4% of the South Korean employees showed the symptoms of work addiction [16].

The expression of work addiction inherently shows the addictive nature of the phenomenon that can be interpreted from the behavioral addictions approach. Apart from the harmful consequences of the behavior, the addictive nature of work addiction is also given by the obsession with working and the behavior slipping out of control [17]. It is important to note, however, that the DSM-5 [18] does not yet define behavioral addictions as disorders, except for “gambling disorder”, however, in the 11th edition of the ICD, the WHO declared video game addiction as a disorder, referring to it as “gaming disorder” [19]. In addition to the above-mentioned disorders, other problems (e.g., compulsive buying or internet addiction) are also recognized as behavioral addictions in the literature [20], though they are not officially considered as mental disorders. At the same time, although work addiction is still not defined as an official mental disorder, some of its symptoms (i.e., working compulsively) can be found as diagnostic criteria of obsessive-compulsive personality disorder (OCPD). Therefore, the strong interrelation between OCPD and work addiction should be examined more comprehensively, and it would be important to apply OCPD as a major risk factor of work addiction [21].

The first description of work addiction is linked to Oates [22], who described a workaholic person as someone “who needs work to such an extent that it noticeably disrupts or impedes his or her physical health, personal happiness, interpersonal relationships, and social functioning” [22] (p. 4). Over the years, several authors have grasped the concept from different perspectives, but there are also commonalities, such as how time and energy invested in work have a destructive effect on other areas of life [23,24,25,26,27]. Spence and Robbins [28] characterized the behavior as a combination of involvement in work, urge, and low level of enjoyment, while Naughton [29] and Robinson [24], among others, emphasized its obsessive-compulsive nature. In their meta-analysis, Clark et al. [1] provide the following description of work addiction based on common features of definitions: ”an addiction to work that includes feeling obsessed with work or being driven by internal pressure, the constant and frequent emergence of work-related thoughts outside work, and work in excess of what is reasonably expected (as determined by job requirements or basic economic needs), despite the potential negative consequences.” [1] (p. 5).

The definitions described above suggest that personality plays an important role in the occurrence of work addiction [30,31,32], of which one interpretive framework according to McMillan et al. [31] is trait theory. Higher levels of certain personality traits can predispose to addictions. In case of work addiction, various performance-oriented personality traits came to the fore, such as perfectionism, “type A” personality, or obsessive-compulsiveness. The “type A” personality can be characterized mainly by goal-orientation, impatience, and hostility, and one of its foundations is the pursuit of performance [33]. Similarly, those with an obsessive-compulsive personality exhibit persistent and diligent behavior at a high level [34]. Ng et al. [32] attributed one of the most important dispositional effects to self-esteem. According to a recent meta-analysis by Kun et al. [35], the following personality traits are the strongest underpinnings of work addiction: low global self-esteem, high perfectionism, and high negative affectivity.

Of course, in addition to the factors detailed above, several other factors may play a role in the development and maintenance of work addiction, thus the sociocultural perspective and learning theory, among others, are also worth mentioning [36]. The former explains work addiction as the result of social and cultural effects in childhood and adulthood, while the latter explains addiction with the more frequent occurrence of reinforced and rewarded behaviors [37,38].

1.2. Work Addiction and Social Relationships

As early as 1971, in defining the concept of work addiction, Oates gave special importance to the dysfunction of interpersonal relationships and social functioning. This was also confirmed by Machlowitz [8], who argues that it is not necessarily workaholic people who suffer the consequences of their addiction, but the people around them. Research on the topic, which is mainly quantitative, focuses on work–life balance and its disintegration, suggesting an inability to maintain symmetry between work and private life [39]. “Work–family conflict” is a form of role conflict in which the needs of the workplace and the family sphere are mutually incompatible [40]. Russo and Waters [41] identified work addiction as one of the possible outcomes of this conflict, which is supported by several previous studies finding a positive correlation between time spent in the workplace and work–family conflict [9].

Porter [42], among many others, found that individuals affected in work addiction are willing to sacrifice their social relationships to gain satisfaction from work, while Robinson and Post [43] argue that they allow work to interfere with their relationships. Thus, it is not surprising that research suggests a predominantly negative correlation between work addiction and perceived quality of interpersonal relationships [3]. Moreover, Robinson [44] emphasizes that overextended work is an obstacle in maintaining close, intimate relationships, therefore work addiction may include minimizing relationship intimacy with the spouse. This can manifest itself in various problems negatively affecting marriage [45]. Jackson [46], however, despite finding increased irritability in individuals characterized by work addiction, did not find a lower degree of intimacy in their relationships. Burke [47] also found no direct relationship between excessive work and divorce, while McMillian et al. [48] provided evidence that excessive work has only a minimal effect on close relationships. This study is significant because it replicated the results six months after the first data collection and collected data from multiple sources. However, it only compared self and partner characteristics, without identifying the mechanisms by which work addiction intervenes in relationships [3].

Empirical evidence suggests that work addiction can lead to bleak family relationships, dissatisfaction with marriage, family dysfunction, and conflicts [49]. Further research has shown that those with higher levels of work addiction tend to report less effective problem-solving strategies, poorer communication, less clear family roles, and generally lower family functionality than individuals with more moderate work addiction behavior [43]. Moreover, Robinson [50] reported that workaholic people express less emotional attachment, care, and desire, conveying less positive emotion and physical attraction to their counterparts compared to the non-workaholic group.

Overall, Robinson et al. [43,44,49,51] view work addiction as a symptom of the disorder of the family system. Consistently, Burke [52] found that workaholics reported significantly lower levels of family satisfaction than other types of employees. Clinically oriented authors Killinger [53] and Oates [22] have also reported that work addiction may be associated with lower levels of relationship quality. It follows from the structural and dynamic characteristics of the family of individuals affected by work addiction that all members of the family may be negatively affected by this symptom, which in their case may be accompanied by the appearance of certain mental problems [24]. In their study, Carroll and Robinson [54] examined adult children of workaholics and alcoholics compared to a control group. Their results showed that children in the workaholic group reported a higher level of depression and parentification than the control group and showed similar levels of these indicators as children of alcoholic parents. In another study applying the vicarious learning theory [55], it was found that the father’s work addiction was a risk factor for the same problem of the offspring. At the same time, the parents’ work addiction has an adverse effect on their children’s mental health. Based on the spillover-crossover model, it was found that children of individuals affected by work addiction had higher levels of emotional and behavioral problems [56]. Regarding work addiction and other behavioral addictions, it can be concluded that familial processes might result in the intergenerational transmission of the disorder [3]. This may be manifested in parents having high expectations of their children, which may predispose them to work addiction. At the same time, the observation of parents and other family members may also make similar behaviors likely to occur [8,32].

1.3. Qualitative Research in the Field of Work Addiction and Our Research Question

The research presented so far in this study has mainly worked with a quantitative methodology, thus unfortunately we have very little empirical qualitative data on the topic, especially regarding the quality of social relationships. It should be mentioned that some authors emphasized the importance of qualitative methodology in work addiction research [5,6,24,57]. Robinson [24] as a family therapist highly contributed to the knowledge on work addiction by analyzing relevant case reports that also represent the qualitative methodology [23]. Based on his practical experiences, he highlighted that the parental work addiction contributed to the offspring’s struggles, pains, and their own workaholic tendencies [24]. In a qualitative study by Kirrane and colleagues [5], a higher level of distress among intensive workers, more impulsive behaviors, and less cooperative behaviors with their colleagues were demonstrated. Based on interviews and focus group discussions with IT professionals, Porter and Kakabadse [57] concluded that work addiction and internet addiction interact. Professionals characterized by work addiction tended to overuse information and communication technology and forget or neglect other obligations or activities. Performing a narrative analysis on the reports written by workaholics anonymous, Russel [6] revealed how the individuals involved define and diagnose their addiction and how they characterize their experiences and lifestyles. Many of them reported that they had paid more attention to their problem only when their health status or social relationships had been devastated. Qualitative studies highlight the existing experience of an individual and they build the results around the ‘understanding’ of it. This methodological approach allows a unique access to the individuals’ authentic interpretations, but it also provides an opportunity to use numeric data during the analysis. Quantitative studies are highly determined by empirical data searching techniques and hypothetical predictions and are linear in nature. Therefore, several relevant factors (e.g., depth and complexity of the issue or unexpected findings unrelated to the hypothetical predictions) can remain hidden from a quantitative researcher. Considering the complexity of the topic, qualitative methodology allows us a deeper focus on the most important aspect of work addiction, analyzing how the individual experiences it. Therefore, our main aim is a phenomenological exploration of the social relations of individuals suffering from work addiction based on their retrospective reports. We assume that work addiction plays an important role in family dynamics. Thus, we expect the transmission of the problem from generation to generation. We address the following research question: By what factors can parental attitude and the family atmosphere contribute to the development of work addiction based on the interviewees’ reports?

2. Materials and Methods

2.1. Sample

The interviewees were selected from the participants of a preliminary study conducted in 2018 (for the methodology, see study from the authors [58]). In this research, we used the WART-R (Work Addiction Risk Test) [59,60] questionnaire to screen for work addiction. The score obtained in the questionnaire was used to determine the individuals who could be classified as at risk in terms of work addiction. Inclusion criterion was a minimum of 67 points out of the total 100 points [24]. At the end of the online questionnaire, 1743 respondents stated that they would agree to the inclusion in a future survey and provided their email address as a contact. These two criteria—high risk and those who consented to the inquiry—were met by 716 people, of whom 150 were contacted after probabilistic selection.

Ultimately, 29 interviews were recorded because several contacted persons did not respond, or the in-person conversation could not take place for other reasons. In terms of the composition of the 29-person sample, it contains an almost equal ratio of female (14 people, 48%) and male (15 people, 52%) participants, the age range was between 27 and 56 years, with a mean age of the sample of 38.6 years (SD = 7.08). Other parameters include permanent residence, highest level of education, occupation, position, and job title. A significant proportion of participants (24 people, 83%) live in the capital, three (10%) in other cities, and two (7%) in villages. In terms of the highest level of education, 23 people (79%) had a college, university, or doctoral degree, and 6 individuals (21%) had a high school diploma. Regarding occupation, some subjects (6 individuals, 21%) worked in the financial sector or the banking sector, but the IT sector also appeared for 5 individuals (17%). In addition, the commercial sector and other occupations also occurred. A total of 35% of the sample had intellectual work based on a diploma, 31% could be classified as middle management, 10% senior management, and 7% as lower management, while 10% fell into the entrepreneurial category, and 3-3% in both the employee and direct production managers categories. Additionally, 26 participants (90%) stated that they had worked more than 40 h a week (100%), and 18 individuals (62%) reported regular work on weekends and/or holidays too.

2.2. Measurement Tools

During the empirical research, participants reported their experiences in the form of a semi-structured interview, during which the open-ended questions are answered in a predetermined way and order, but it is also possible to ask additional questions and topics. The interviews were grouped around a variety of topics, including workplace, working conditions, career, motivation, interpersonal private and workplace relationships, physical and mental well-being, leisure, health behaviors, and perceptions of work addiction. The in-depth interview made it possible to capture and explore the individual experiences, motivations, and values of the participants [61]. Prior to the in-depth interview, demographic data (gender, date of birth, place of residence, education, and marital status) and work-related data (occupation, job title) were recorded in the form of standard questions.

2.3. Procedure

Method of Data Collection and Provision of Ethical Requirements

After a preliminary consultation with the subjects, the interviews took place between October 2019 and January 2020 at the research team’s university. Interviews at the agreed times were conducted by a total of 8 research team members, one person per occasion. In accordance with ethical requirements, the subjects were informed both verbally and in writing in the form of an informed consent on the purpose and content of the research, the possibility of refusing to participate, the expected results of the research and the forms of their dissemination, as well as the benefits (in the form of a motivational gift). In addition, they were informed about the confidential and anonymous way of handling the data. Personal data could only be accessed by members of the research team, and anonymity was provided by freely selected identifiers. In accordance with the above, the principles of the Declaration of Helsinki were met during the study, and the research was also approved by the institutional review board (IRB) of the research team’s university. Participants voluntarily contributed to the research and had the opportunity to interrupt the process at any time without consequences. The duration of the recorded conversations was approximately 60–90 min per person. These were later analyzed in the form of electronic transcripts. The complete database of literal transcriptions comprised 217,982 words.

2.4. Data Analysis

In line with the objective of the study, the interview analysis focused on the topic of social relationships, for which we used the qualitative thematic analysis method by Braun and Clarke [62]. This allowed us to answer our research questions by identifying themes and meaning patterns. The steps of the method are not linear, but recursive in nature, so with the development of an analytical and interpretive approach, we return to the specific phases. The analyst also performed continuous self-reflection with his or her active participation [62,63]. The analysis is phenomenological in nature, as the focus is on individual experiences. The thematic analysis provides a good opportunity to process the studied phenomenon in a thorough, exploratory manner. Themes can be defined in both inductive and deductive ways, depending on whether we start our conclusion from our specific theoretical assumptions or from our existing data.

Braun and Clarke [62] define the process of analysis in six main steps, the first step of which is getting to know the text and reading the interview transcripts thoroughly. The text was then coded using a qualitative data analysis program (QDA), ATLAS.ti Version 9.0 [64], but notes were also taken using the traditional paper-and-pencil method. Analysis was conducted by two researchers (first and second authors) independently, differences in the syllogism process and theme results were discussed until the disagreements were resolved. Both researchers concentrated on the semantic meaning of the data, summarizing the explicit, manifest content. The process focused specifically on the interview parts discussing social, particularly family, relations. Based on the data emerging from the codes, the research question was defined, after which the focus of the more detailed analysis was on exploring the relationships between parent–child relationships, parenting attitudes, family atmosphere, and work addiction. Based on the codes, themes were created in an inductive way, which is visualized on a theme map (see Figure 1). In creating the themes, such commonalities behind the codes were explored that grab the meaning and capture a central organizing concept [63].

The analysis started from the concept that work addiction is passed on in an intergenerational manner, mediated by family processes [50]. Therefore, we investigated the dysfunctional mechanisms that can induce the emergence of work addiction as risk factors, as well as the parental norms and values that may also be associated with the development of work addiction. Thus, we identified two themes: (1) dysfunctional family mechanisms and (2) parental norms and values.

3. Results

During the analysis, the theme of dysfunctional family mechanisms was identified, which included, among other things, the lack of a sense of security at home and addictions in the family medical history. Within the theme of parental norms and values, in addition to the internalized parental and family patterns, the themes of work attitudes and high standards came to the fore, which culminated in compulsion to conform for the subjects. Screening and data analysis were assessed independently by two researchers (first and second authors), both had training and experience in qualitative research methods. Themes and concepts were independently developed, the results in codes and themes were compared and discussed. Summary of the main themes and the relation model itself were agreed and presented in Figure 1. In case of any disagreements during any phases of the process, the discussions were in place until the disagreement was resolved or consensus was reached.

The frequency of the identified themes is shown in

Table 1. Frequency of main themes and sub-themes.

Main Themes	Sub-Themes	Frequency of Mentioning in All the Interviews (N)	Frequency of Mentioning among All Individuals N (%)	Percentage of Males Who Mentioned (%)
Dysfunctional family mechanisms	Lack of sense of security at home	10	6 (21)	100
	Work addiction in the family	14	6 (21)	67
	Other addictions in the family	7	7 (24)	29
Internalized parental values and norms	Transferred family and social values	6	6 (21)	50
	Work attitudes in the family	14	12 (41)	42
	Expectations and compulsion to conform	29	17 (59)	59

. We illustrate the interpretation of the results with the help of quotations below.

3.1. Dysfunctional Family Mechanisms

Dysfunctional family is a well-known concept for individuals affected by work addiction. This central concept can be grasped from many aspects. Family factors that make it difficult to grow up include the lack of sense of security at home and addictions being present in the family.

3.1.1. Lack of Sense of Security at Home

Participants repeatedly reported difficult childhood conditions, which we classified into two categories. In the first category belonged unfavorable financial conditions. The subjects mentioned the desire for financial security and the compensation of childhood economic problems as the reason for working. Consequently, their aspirations for independence also appeared, knowing that they would not be given a secure background in the family, but they had to take control of things.

“And then later it also always drove me in my work to make as much money as possible, but in order to be able to make my dreams come true with money as a tool (…) in my childhood, we never vacationed anywhere with my family, because we didn’t have the financial opportunity, and then I wanted to somehow reach a level, so that I could be so independent and financially independent that after that I could realize my big childhood dreams (…) because I am not financially dependent on whether I can cover my daily subsistence.”

(9.)

In the second category, emotions and the lack of secure emotional bonds appear. Emotional distance, childhood abandonment and fear, and unmet emotional needs left a deep imprint on the interviewees, either in the form of problematic emotion expression in adulthood or through unresolved emotional wounds.

“So, I have a very difficult relationship with my parents, it’s hard in a way that there were very serious emotional bottlenecks (…) And accepting that, they couldn’t meet my kind of emotional needs like that, back then, and well, yes, over seventy it will obviously remain the same.”

(8.)

“I was a good student because my mother worked a lot in a dairy. She couldn’t care for us, she never dealt with us, she put us in after school childcare.”

(13.)

“Well, I find it very difficult to talk about my own emotions. I am a crier anyway, so I cry.”

(25.)

Divorce of parents as a dysfunctional family mechanism may also contribute to the lack of a safe home environment. In the cases studied, parental divorce did not play a prominent role in terms of family dynamics and emotional neglect but may indirectly contribute to the workaholism of a single parent raising a child alone.

“And my parents divorced, I have two siblings, she raised us alone, and er... actually, I think she has had 3 jobs in parallel since I was little.”

(26.)

“My mother was a teacher and my parents divorced, so we didn’t live together, we didn’t keep in touch because he was English in the family and stayed in England.”

(4.)

It is important to note that 100% of the individuals who mentioned a lack of sense of security at home were male.

3.1.2. Work Addiction in the Family

Here we arrived at the main topic of the study, intergenerational transmission of work addiction. Several subjects reported that their siblings also had the problem of work addiction or work extremely hard, suggesting that the pattern of behavior was of family origin.

“… My sister works in the marketing field and she has to start the whatever campaign and I don’t know what…She has to launch it at 2 a.m. for whatever reasons and…I can see it on her that she enjoys.”

(6.)

In the case of parents, work addiction was also manifested in the fact that, according to the reports, they had several jobs in parallel, and even continued to work in retirement and old age.

“My mother, in her entire life, has always had a full-time job and a second and sometimes a third…”

(28.)

“And you need to know about my parents that they work in education, but that they have 2–3 jobs and are 55 and 56 years old and they’re pushing that right now, as hard as they even work on the weekends.”

(27.)

A clear example of work addiction transmitted from generation to generation is the report that describes the conflict between work and family that also returns in the life of the interviewee’s daughter.

“My older daughter, who is about 36 years old, may already be working more than I am (sighing). She works twelve hours, she is er… a department manager at a big company… uhh… yeah, I think she works as much as I do. She works as much as I do, so for her it is completely natural to accept and understand this (…) It’s hard because of her job... she can’t live a full family life. She got married and after 8 months her husband said, “(We married to) … see you working day and night?”

(13.)

It is worth emphasizing that male participants mentioned this sub-theme more frequently (67%) than females.

3.1.3. Other Addictions in Family

Work addiction is not the only addiction that has hit its head in the family of those involved. Both substance use disorders (e.g., nicotine addiction, alcohol use disorder) and behavioral addictions (e.g., gambling disorder, work addiction) were reported by respondents as being integral parts of their family lives. Contrary to familial work addiction problems, this topic appeared mostly among female interviewees: almost three-quarters of the participants (69%) who mentioned this theme were women.

“Well, I come from a relatively heavier family. My father was an alcoholic. There was a time when Mom was too, actually, it’s a complicated family with a wide variety of addictions. Even within the larger family, not just the close family.”

(Questioner: “What kind of addictions?”)

“All. In fact, all that you can imagine (laughs)”

(Questioner: “Could you mention some of them?”)

“There were drug users, many alcoholics, er…all kinds of relationship addicts. Horse race, betting, gambling was there too.”

(25.)

Fathers were more likely to be characterized by alcohol dependence. The excerpt below illustrates well that the aggressive manifestations of a parent who often returns home drunk created a fearful home atmosphere that is clearly not conducive to creating a stable and secure socialization environment.

“… I just got used to it, for example, that my father was an alcoholic. And well, it happened a lot of times that he came home, then he raged and broke things, and then we escaped with my sister…”

(13.)

To nuance the picture, family abstinence and a drug-free family are also a recurring element in the participants’ accounts.

“… And so, I didn’t really see the signs, the situation wasn’t familiar, I didn’t see many drunk people where I grew up, and so even this euphoric state wasn’t recognizable to me.”

(11.)

3.2. Internalized Parental Norms and Values

The values conveyed by parents fundamentally determine their children’s behavior, shaping their thinking and attitudes. The family, as the primary socialization setting, permeates children’s lives, thus internalized parental and family patterns have appeared as recurring themes in the narratives, with an emphasis on attitudes toward work. Values and attitudes can also appear in the form of expectations, having an impact on the growing children as an external influencing factor. The many times high expectations can induce compulsion to conform. Compulsion and internal motivation are also relevant concepts when discussing work addiction.

3.2.1. Transferred Family and Social Values

In the interviews, family patterns and values, with which the subjects themselves identified and internalized, played an elementary role. The internalized values included taking responsibility, perseverance, and attention to people.

“Yes, they stand up from everything (…), but that what they have taught me about working and about taking responsibility for myself, well, it gives me a lot of strength and motivation.”

(11.)

“But it’s something brought from home like this, so for me, my parents were like that too, so for me it’s totally essential that I pay attention to people.”

(15.)

In contrast to the dysfunctions mentioned above, support and love are central values to some families.

“Yes, I grew up in love, maybe this is..., yes, in love, between values and boundaries.”

(11.)

(…) “So, I sometimes asked them for advice, yes, yes. But I usually don’t get in turn that I shouldn’t have done something in a way I did.” (…)

(Questioner: “So there is a good relationship between them?”)

(…) “So, uh yes, yes. Well, they’re older now.”

(22.)

3.2.2. Work Attitudes in the Family

We identified attitudes toward work within the family as another important and frequently mentioned topic, this sub-theme appeared in 41% of the participants. Subjects characterized their working parents and grandparents in a variety of ways. The urge and passion for work, as well as work as an inherent part of life and also as the meaning of life, were given a prominent role.

Several of the interviewees recognized the family origins of their values and the transgenerational attitudes, with which they identified based on examples seen in the family.

“Well, uh, so I think for us in the family, the first thing in life was work, the, the rest was also important, but still the most important thing was work. So, well, er… that’s why we live. If someone loves his job, well, it is like he likes to live. Yeah, so… So, without a sense of passion, it’s really hard to do this well. Mediocre yes, but not well.”

(22.)

“So, I think I’m bringing this kind of attitude with me on a transgenerational level. Let’s just say I found a meaning in it now that I’m trying to… uh so I tried and managed to embrace that meaning of enjoying it. It’s my attitude right now, and at this point I don’t feel like I want to change it because now it’s mine. (…) I mean, when I was a kid and I experienced it and I became aware of it that I have this as well and I have this urge.”

(20.)

Furthermore, the “work on weekends” attitude appeared, in which work and housework played the main role also on the weekends, not leaving time for rest and relaxation.

“But I know it came through previous generations, so how can I say that we weren’t really that way that we opened ourselves very easily even on Saturday afternoons, or we didn’t go to Visegrád to eat a trout, but there is work to do. There is always much work to do around the house, ergo people do it.”

(20.)

“Well, it’s actually a kind of parental legacy. So, when I was a child, my parents talked about things at work even at dinner and on the weekends, and in the evenings, they worked and planned.”

(22.)

However, parents’ education and occupation also influenced some of the interviewees. Below, the participant reports on a commitment that strongly permeates the family.

“There is, there is such a family background that the, it may sound strange, but… this is the service of the state, the service of the home country, if you can say such words, that’s how it is, my grandpa was a military officer and my godfather too, was a professional soldier, he also retired from there, the family has such a very militaristic line.”

(12.)

At the same time, others reported that they had grown into their profession, because when they saw their parents and grew up in it, they went on a similar career path.

(Questioner: “In your career choice, did you always know what you wanted to be?”)

“It was strong enough because my parents were chemical engineers (…) my parents had this profession, so there was a kind of motivation like that.”

(22.)

3.2.3. Expectations and Compulsion to Conform

When it comes to work addiction and compulsion to perform, we cannot ignore the extent to which the compulsion to meet high expectations for children contributes to the development of subsequent addictive behaviors. The desire to prove permeates children’s behavior, giving the feeling that what they provide can never be good enough. As a result, high personal standards, strict self-criticism, and rumination develop.

This theme appeared most frequently in comparison to all other sub-themes, 51% of the interviewees reported strong level of compulsion to prove or conform to others. Participants explained these intensive compulsions as a result of high parental expectations in their childhood:

“So, I have such a fear, such an adequacy of being knocked down, even though I work a lot, and I have this feeling, that they will call me, and I don’t know, they will say I didn’t do it (my work) well or I overlooked something and that it should have been done in a different way.”

(1.)

Moreover, in the following recollection it is also expressed how these shackles were removed:

“Well, one enjoys, one enjoys that people work a lot, but somehow there is some compulsion to prove. To dad, mom, ourselves, I had that too, and I almost got my doctorate to make my parents satisfied with me (…) but I don’t fight anyone, anyone, just to make mom and dad happy. (…) Ah, I don’t want to prove to anyone anymore. I want to live. Because in the meantime I forgot to live. That’s what I found out.“

(11.)

The dynamic interaction of external influences and internal structures is illustrated by the formulation of some interviewees, who recognize that in addition to expectations, internal urges and tendencies are also manifested in excessive work.

“So, my work addiction, if we call it that, let’s call it that, wasn’t, it was partly caused by such an external influence and such an undefined expectation, it is a compulsion in my opinion and that was what my personality met…”

(21.)

The origin of the internal urge in the following excerpt of the interview is focused on the feeling of usefulness, which is also a very common motive behind workaholism.

“I think it’s an inner urge that makes me a workaholic, that I’m well with my life right now if what I’m doing is useful. Be the benefit small or big, whatever, but other than 0, there should be a positive benefit of what I’m doing. And I can achieve that by means of working.”

(20.)

“But I didn’t think that I was doing it because… because otherwise the world would collapse, or then my life would be empty, because I would have been happy to occupy myself with something else, but I have a maximalism that might seem stupid from the outside, and absolute loyalty, and I don’t know what… and I knew that if I didn’t do that, then… everything would turn out so shitty, and that’s why I did it, but… but I’m sure I have a tendency towards this, but one has to watch this with awareness.”

(18.)

The expectations raised by one’s father were given a cardinal role in the narratives, focusing on the hard-to-earn words of praise and constant dissatisfaction that manifested itself in the quest for recognition.

“Well, I did realize that » Oh, wait, it isn’t normal that my dad treats me like that. Could he even admit that I am good at something?” (…) So that I never felt like my dad was proud of me. Whatever I did.”

(23.)

“On the other hand, well, my dad, he, he’s proud of me, too, but with him, well, our relationship is a little different. It’s damn hard to meet his standards in anything, there’s the typical thing, that, er… if you do something well you don’t really get praise, but if you do something wrong, you get criticized badly.”

(28.)

Within the topic of high expectations, it seems self-evident to have strict demands on school performance. However, subjects commenting on the topic consistently reported average or even low performance in school.

(Questioner: “Were you like this in school as well? Did you learn a lot?”)

“No. It’s so interesting, but I wasn’t. So, I was never an explicitly good student. (sighs) Since I was always very overwhelmed there too. I don’t know. It’s really very interesting that there wasn’t this. Not only the best grade was acceptable.”

(23.)

4. Discussion

The present qualitative study examined the construct of work addiction within the broader topic of social relations in the context of family and parent–child relationships. Several previous results, e.g., Robinson [50], have confirmed the intergenerational nature of work addiction, which suggests that workaholism is an addictive behavior developed in response to a dysfunctional family system. According to Killinger [53], it is also common in work-dependent families that the value system emphasizing performance, which links attention to exceeding expectations, places a condition on love.

The analysis and interpretation of the data revealed that problematic childhood socialization conditions are indeed frequent in the background of work addiction, and that the internalization of parental values also contributes significantly to the emergence of workaholism. The research thus supports the quantitative results, while also answers the question of how individuals and their family members suffering in work addiction perceived the processes taking place in their families during their childhood, and to what extent they think these contributed to their subsequent excessive working.

During our thematic analysis, we identified two main themes and then unearthed the more specific themes that belong to them. Interviewees often mentioned family mechanisms in the background of their work addiction and their motivation to work excessively. Many highlighted their parents’ work addiction, parental divorce, or difficult childhood circumstances that could contribute to their later-unfolded relationship with work. Thus, the topic of dysfunctional family mechanisms was defined as the main theme, which was also emphasized in the relevant literature. Regarding gender differences, two sub-themes were mentioned mostly by male participants: lack of sense of security at home and work addiction in the family. These results are in line with quantitative studies showing that fathers embrace a stronger influence on their children’s work addiction compared to mothers [55,56]. We can assume that sons might be more sensitive to their father’s work-related role behavior than girls, therefore they express their feelings about work addiction in the family more frequently. However, other addictions in the family as a sub-theme appeared more frequently among female interviewees. This result is in accordance with studies on the relationship between the child’s parentification and substance use problems among any of the parents [65,66]. These children are under the necessity to become ‘adults’ in their family at a very young age to fulfill those responsibilities that parents are not able to do. These children might neglect their own needs and desires and grow up to be a person with high responsibility and over-functioning behavior [67]. Daughters may be at higher risk in terms of parentification and caretaking roles [65], hence this could be the reason why female participants mentioned the topic of other addictions in the family more often. This argument is further strengthened by the observations and empirical results on the presence of parentification in the childhood of individuals affected by work addiction [24,54]. Certainly, future research is highly needed about gender roles in work addiction.

Parents’ work addiction is in line with the result of Chamberlin and Zhang [68] in that perceived parental work addiction in university students was associated with their own work addiction. However, work addiction was not the only addiction reported by the subjects involved. Among substance related addictions, alcohol use disorder made the childhood of some respondents more difficult. The relationship between alcoholism and work addiction is also well-known, as the name used by Oates in 1971—‘workaholism’—builds on common traits with alcoholism. As Porter [23] (pp. 70–71) describes, “Whereas an alcoholic neglects other aspects of life for the indulgence in alcohol, the workaholic behaves the same for excessive indulgence in work.” Later, several studies documented the co-occurrence of alcohol abuse and the higher risk of work addiction [69,70]. Dysfunctional families often struggle with emotional distances between family members and inadequately communicated emotions. In addition to emotional neglect, difficult financial circumstances also played a crucial role as a motivation for excessive work, which in this case is a means of creating financial security. Why might the factors described above be important from the view of work addiction? Neglect, addicted family members, and financial problems all point in one direction; the desire to take control and the urge for independence becomes consolidated in the individual. The individual needs to become independent, must take on more responsible roles, which will be reflected in their later work. Consistent with this, Carroll and Robinson [54] examined the children of alcohol-dependent and workaholic parents and found that parentification was significantly higher in both groups than in the control group. The picture outlined so far is nuanced by the reports of interviewees who recalled a loving, supportive family environment.

The family shapes the personality of the growing child as a primary socialization scene, shapes their worldview, and communicates values to them [71]. Values have strong effects on attitude and behavior. In many cases, the interview subjects referred to the value systems derived from the family and the parental pattern, so the other main theme is internalized parental values and norms. Based on the reports, parents and the family convey values that underline responsibility, perseverance, and attentiveness. Special attention should be paid to the topic of attitudes towards work, in which participants remember how their parents’ lives—and thus family processes—were permeated by an obsession with work, a “non-stop” attitude, which is supposed to be related to high expectations and the compulsion to comply with them. The high expectations of parents are seen as an essential factor by addiction researchers, who believe that overly demanding parenting styles can predispose children to problematic addictive behaviors [72]. In the interviews, the role of the demanding parent was consistently associated with the father. According to Robinson [24], children facing high requirements focus more on their responsibilities to improve their low self-esteem and, among other things, strive to achieve good results in school. In the reports, however, I observed that successful school progress was not of central importance. Subjects rather reported that they were not good learners. If they reported that they were good students, it rather had an avoidant role than compliance.

The external and internal factors behind work addiction, as well as their interaction, are also reflected in the reports of the participants. Many recognized the family, the transgenerational origin of their addiction, deriving their behavior from an external source, while others emphasized the role of the inferiority complex and the compulsion to conform, highlighting the internal personality factors. The compulsion to conform, along with expectations, appeared as the most frequent theme, 59% of the interviewees mentioned this topic. This result is consistent with the findings on the relationship between the Big Five personality traits [73] and work addiction. Conscientiousness—which includes the tendency to be well-organized, careful, and self-disciplined—also relates to socially prescribed impulse control that relates to conformity. Those individuals who show a high level of conformity tend to continuously seek the approval of others in order to fit their expectations. By doing everything precisely and in order, conscientious people are more inclined to meet the expectations of others. Several studies found that conscientiousness is positively associated with work addiction [21,74,75].

Several limitations of the research are worth considering. The subjectivity arising from the qualitative nature of the study plays a significant role in the thematic analysis method, as the researcher is an active participant of the analysis process, by which the researcher’s subjective perspective and attitudes become part of the analysis. However, in the current research, the data analysis was conducted independently by two researchers and the subjectivity was mitigated.

As a limitation, it is important to note the retrospective nature of the reports, which may have led to memory distortions and the amplification of emotional childhood memories. The interviews were conducted one and a half years later than the data collected from the questionnaire research, during which time there may have been changes in the way individuals work. The small sample size and the lack of representativity of the sample lead to limited external validity. Moreover, we should note that the sample lacked cultural diversity and it contained only Hungarian participants. This limitation could cause distortions in the interpretation of the results since family values and parental norms can be very diverse across different cultures.

5. Conclusions

Overall, the research revealed the pivotal factors of parental attitudes and family atmosphere leading to work addiction. The qualitative approach and the method of semi-structured interview allowed individuals with work addiction to report on their childhood and family experiences, focusing on their personal perspectives. In contrast to previous quantitative research, the focus of this study is on the individual’s experience and on how the individual incorporates early experience into their behavior, thus putting the emphasis on the process. A clear answer is provided to the question that family mechanisms and transgenerational attitudes prominently contribute to the later onset of work addiction. In the interviews, demanding paternal behavior dominated the theme of high expectations, and performance orientation at work did not show a clear association with school performance and academic success.

Further comprehensive examination of work addiction is indispensable. Future research may focus on the more profound exploration of the development of work addiction, with a particular focus on childhood and family factors, as prevention and intervention may begin as early as the school years. It is particularly important to explore the possible causes of this behavioral addiction, as children growing up in work-dependent families are an at-risk group for mental disorders [24].

Furthermore, longitudinal research could be used to follow up the changes in the family relationships of those involved in work addiction and how these affect their addictive behavioral patterns. Exploration of transgenerational patterns might also be supported by research that involves close relatives (parents, possibly older children) in addition to people suffering from work addiction.