Demographic factors and Multidimensional Workaholism Scale: Measurement invariance across gender and age in the Italian population

In recent years, there has been an increase in workaholism. Past research investigating the relationship between sociodemographic factors and workaholism reported inconsistent results regarding differences in levels of workaholism, both between males and females and between age groups. The aim of this study is twofold: to further contribute to the validation of the Multidimensional Workaholism Scale (MWS) in the Italian context, with a focus on measurement invariance across gender and age, and to explore gender and age disparities in workaholism levels. The participants were 2,435 workers who completed an online self-report questionnaire. Structural equation modelling with confirmatory factorial analysis, multi-group confirmatory factorial analysis and latent means analysis were used. The results confirmed the four-factor structure of the MWS in the Italian context. In addition, the configural, metric and scalar invariance of the MWS was achieved across gender and age. Finally, a latent means examination showing the latent means of the MWS subdimensions (motivational, cognitive, emotional and behavioural) were equivalent across gender groups. Concerning age, results showed that younger people had lower means on the behavioural dimension and higher means on the emotional dimension of the MWS compared to middle-aged or older workers. Moreover, the study’s limitations and future perspectives are discussed.