Workaholism and its manifestations in individuals running small family businesses - selected qualitative research results

Abstract

The research into workaholism in individuals running small, family-owned businesses, among microentrepreneurs, i.e. individuals conducting business activity and employing up to 9 people, was inspired by the relatively high number of persons seeking assistance at a psychotherapy centre, classifying the ailments as workaholic issues, with n=64 respondents interviewed. The paper presents selected manifestations of workaholism, categorised into several key data areas as a result of qualitative research. Quota sampling was used to select respondents who were microentrepreneurs and who had been running family businesses for at least two generations. The results presented in the paper are part of a more extensive research project supervised by the first author, concerning the psychological aspects of running family businesses.