Conclusion
All in all, the results of our study show that workaholics reported more negative affect, whereas work engaged employees experienced more positive affect. In line with expectations, workaholism is associated with different reasons to stop or persist working than work engagement. Workaholism is related to continuing until the employee feels that he or she put sufficient effort into work, whereas work engagement is not related to using this criterion. To our knowledge, this is the first study that used the MAI model to uncover the motivation to work persistenly. For a precise account of how, where and when mood and stop rules influence workaholism and work engagement, more research needs to be conducted. Nonetheless, the present findings may serve as a starting point for further inquiry into how workaholic and engaged employees differ regarding their motivation to work persistently.
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