Dutch Work Addiction Scale (DUWAS)

Abstract

The Dutch Work Addiction Scale (DUWAS) is a concise and highly regarded psychometric instrument designed to measure the construct of workaholism. Developed primarily by Wilmar B. Schaufeli and Toon W. Taris, the scale operationalizes workaholism as a two-dimensional concept comprising the behavioral component of Working Excessively and the cognitive/motivational component of Working Compulsively. The most commonly utilized version, the DUWAS-10, consists of ten items that allow researchers and practitioners to efficiently assess maladaptive working patterns across various professional and cultural contexts. The scale is foundational in occupational health psychology research concerning the negative outcomes associated with an excessive and uncontrollable drive to work.

Keywords

DUWAS, Workaholism, Work Addiction, Working Excessively, Working Compulsively, Occupational Health, Psychometrics, Cross-Cultural Research, Job Strain, Work Engagement

Authors

Wilmar B. Schaufeli, Toon W. Taris, Akihito Shimazu, L. C. Verhoeven

Purpose

The primary purpose of the DUWAS is to provide a reliable and empirically validated measure for assessing two distinct, yet related, facets of workaholism. Before the development of DUWAS, measures of work addiction often conflated the positive aspects of work engagement with the negative, compulsive aspects of addiction. The DUWAS addresses this limitation by offering a clear separation between the behavioral manifestation (working long hours) and the internal, addictive motivation (feeling driven or guilty when not working).

The scale serves as a critical diagnostic tool in research focused on identifying individuals at risk for negative health outcomes, such as burnout, stress, and work-family conflict, which are frequently correlated with high scores on the compulsive dimension of workaholism. Its brevity (10 items) also makes it practical for use in large-scale organizational surveys and clinical screenings.

Construct

The DUWAS measures workaholism as a bifactorial construct, distinguishing it from high work engagement (which is typically measured by the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale, UWES). This distinction is key to the scale’s theoretical foundation. The two dimensions measured are:

• Working Excessively (Behavioral Component): This refers to the observable behavior of spending vast amounts of time and energy on work, often exceeding organizational requirements and social norms. Items related to this factor focus on the quantity of work and the inability to stop working when peers do.
• Working Compulsively (Cognitive/Motivational Component): This captures the internal, addictive drive. Individuals scoring high on this factor feel internally compelled to work, experience guilt or anxiety when taking time off, and find it difficult to relax or detach from work mentally. This dimension is considered the core pathological aspect of work addiction.

Validity

The validity of the DUWAS has been extensively supported across numerous studies, establishing strong construct and criterion validity. Factor analysis consistently confirms the hypothesized two-factor structure (Excessive and Compulsive work), demonstrating that the items load onto their intended dimensions clearly and distinctly.

Criterion validity is established through the scale’s predictive power regarding negative outcomes. Specifically, the Working Compulsively factor shows significant positive correlations with markers of poor well-being, such as job strain, burnout, and psychosomatic complaints. Furthermore, the scale has demonstrated strong discriminative validity by showing that workaholism is empirically distinct from Work Engagement, which is characterized by vigor, dedication, and absorption but is generally associated with positive outcomes.

Reliability

The DUWAS exhibits strong internal consistency, confirming its reliability as a measure of work addiction. Across various international samples, the Cronbach’s alpha coefficients for both the Working Excessively subscale and the Working Compulsively subscale generally meet or exceed the acceptable threshold of 0.70, often ranging between 0.75 and 0.85. This high level of internal consistency suggests that the items within each factor reliably measure the same underlying construct. Test-retest reliability has also been reported as satisfactory, indicating the stability of the measure over time.

Factor Analysis

The structure of the DUWAS was rigorously tested using both Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) and Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA). These analyses consistently support the intended two-factor model over a single-factor model of general work involvement. The two factors—Working Excessively (5 items) and Working Compulsively (5 items)—are typically found to be correlated but distinct, confirming the theoretical distinction articulated by Schaufeli and colleagues. Significant Cross-Cultural Research (notably in studies comparing Dutch and Japanese workers) has further solidified the robustness and generalizability of this two-factor structure.

Instrument

Test Type: Self-report questionnaire / Psychometric Scale

Format: 10 items (DUWAS-10 short version)

Language Available: English, Dutch, Japanese, and numerous other languages through translation and validation studies.

Population Group: Employed adults and professionals across various industries.

Age Group: Typically 18 years and older (Adult working population).

Population Details: The scale was initially validated on Dutch working populations but has since been validated internationally, demonstrating its utility in diverse occupational settings, including managerial, clerical, and skilled labor roles.

Test Methodology: Respondents rate the frequency of behaviors and feelings related to work using a 4-point Likert scale. The standard scoring uses the following anchors: 1 = (Almost) never, 2 = Sometimes, 3 = Often, 4 = (Almost) always. Scores are calculated for the two separate subscales, allowing for the classification of respondents into different work types (e.g., workaholics, engaged workers, non-workaholics).

Keywords

DUWAS-10, Psychometric Properties, Work-Family Conflict, Occupational Stress, Wilmar Schaufeli, Toon Taris, Two-Factor Model, Workaholism Assessment, Organizational Psychology

Authors

Author ORCID Identifier: Information not provided in source data.

Affiliation Email addresses: Information not provided in source data.

Correspondence Address: Correspondence is typically directed to the primary author’s affiliated university (e.g., Utrecht University for Wilmar B. Schaufeli).

Permissions & Fee and Test Year

The DUWAS is often available for non-commercial academic research purposes free of charge, although formal permission from the authors (W. B. Schaufeli or T. W. Taris) is usually required. Detailed technical information regarding the scale’s development was published in 2004, marking the approximate year of the instrument’s standardization.

The original PDF of the DUWAS-10 English version can be downloaded here: http://www.wilmarschaufeli.nl/publications/Schaufeli/Tests/DUWAS_10_EN.pdf

Reference’s

• Schaufeli W, Taris T. Technical information. Dutch Work Addiction Scale (DUWAS) 2004. [Consultado el 12 de abril de 2012]. Disponible en: http://www.schaufeli.com
• Taris, T. W., Schaufeli, W. B., & Verhoeven, L. C. (2005). Internal and external validation of the Dutch Work Addiction Risk Test: Implications for jobs and non-work conflict. Journal of Applied Psychology: An International Review, 54, 37-60.
• Schaufeli, Wilmar B., Shimazu, Akihito., and Taris, Toon W. (2009). Being Driven to Work Excessively Hard: The Evaluation of a Two-Factor Measure of Workaholism in the Netherlands and Japan, Cross-Cultural Research, 43(4), 320-348. The abstract can be found here: http://ccr.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/43/4/320
• Schaufeli, Wilmar (2009). The Dutch Boredom Scale (DUBS). The original PDF can be downloaded here: http://www.wilmarschaufeli.nl/publications/Schaufeli/Tests/DUBS_E.pdf
• Schaufeli W, Van Wijhe C, Peeters M, Taris T. Workaholisme, een begrip gemeten. Utrecht: Universiteit Utrecht; 2010.
• Additional validation information is available here: https://lirias.kuleuven.be/bitstream/123456789/486754/1/16.pdf
• The Test Manual for the related UWES scale can be found here: http://www.wilmarschaufeli.nl/publications/Schaufeli/Test%20Manuals/Test_manual_UWES_English.pdf

Items of the Dutch Work Addiction Scale (DUWAS)

Work & Well-being Survey (DUWAS-short version)

Response Scale: 1= (Almost) never, 2= Sometimes, 3= Often, 4= (Almost) always

Working Excessively (Items 1, 2, 4, 6, 8)

1. I seem to be in a hurry and racing against the clock
2. I find myself continuing to work after my co-workers have called it quits
3. I stay busy and keep many irons in the fire
4. I spend more time working than on socializing with friends, on hobbies, or on leisure activities
5. I find myself doing two or three things at one time such as eating lunch and writing a memo, while talking on the telephone

Working Compulsively (Items 3, 5, 7, 9, 10)

3. It’s important to me to work hard even when I don’t enjoy what I’m doing
4. I feel that there’s something inside me that drives me to work hard
5. I feel obliged to work hard, even when it’s not enjoyable
6. I feel guilty when I take time off work
7. It is hard for me to relax when I’m not working

***

Note on Related Scales (UWES Items provided in source content):

The source content also includes items typically associated with the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES), which measures the opposite construct of positive work involvement, categorized into Vigor (VI), Dedication (DE), and Absorption (AB).

• At my work, I feel bursting with energy (VI1)
• I find the work that I do full of meaning and purpose (DE1)
• Time flies when I’m working (AB1)
• At my job, I feel strong and vigorous (VI2)*
• I am enthusiastic about my job (DE2)*
• When I am working, I forget everything else around me (AB2)
• My job inspires me (DE3)*
• When I get up in the morning, I feel like going to work (VI3)*
• I feel happy when I am working intensely (AB3)*
• I am proud on the work that I do (DE4)*
• I am immersed in my work (AB4)*
• I can continue working for very long periods at a time (VI4)
• To me, my job is challenging (DE5)
• I get carried away when I’m working (AB5)*
• At my job, I am very resilient, mentally (VI5)
• It is difficult to detach myself from my job (AB6)
• At my work I always persevere, even when things do not go well (VI6)

Note on Related Scales (DUBS Items provided in source content):

The source also included items related to the Dutch Boredom Scale (DUBS), which assesses job boredom, often used in conjunction with engagement and workaholism measures.

• At work, time goes by very slowly.
• I feel bored at my job.
• At work, I spend my time aimlessly.
• At my job, I feel restless.
• During work time I daydream.
• It seems as if my working day never ends.
• I tend to do other things during my work.
• At my work, there is not so much to do.