La relation entre l’usage professionnel des technologies numériques et l’addiction au travail médiatisée par les demandes psychologiques au travail : quelles différences entre les hommes et les femmes ?

Abstract

Considered as an additional job demand, the use of technologies for work-related reasons could increase psychological demands at work, favoring the appearance of workaholism. Our study examines the impact of the frequency of this use on psychological demands at work and workaholism in a sample of 223 people at work from various professional backgrounds, by verifying whether there are differences between men and women. The results showed that the use of technologies (desktop computer, laptop, tablet, smartphone/mobile phone) for work-related reasons increases psychological demands felt at work, consequently favoring the appearance of the two components of workaholism (working excessively and working compulsively) in men and women. In addition, the results show us gender differences: the strength of the relationship between the use of technologies for work-related reasons and working excessively, partially mediated by psychological demands at work, was slightly higher among men than in women; strength of the relationship between the use of technologies for work-related reasons and working compulsively, partially mediated by psychological demands at work, was found just among men, whereas a full mediation was found among women. This research highlights the importance of investigating the mechanisms that may explain how the use of technologies for work-related reasons could enhance the risk of work addiction, by considering gender differences.