Introduction. According to Bandura's (1991) Theory of Self-Regulation, self-regulatory systems provide the foundation for purposeful action and guide individuals in regulating their feelings through behavior. In this context, employees high in vulnerable or grandiose narcissism may engage in work addiction to manage their internal states, using excessive work to meet their needs for approval and attention. However, these assumptions have not yet been directly tested empirically, highlighting the need for research to confirm or challenge these proposed mechanisms.
Purpose. The aim of the present study was to examine the mediating role of self-regulatory needs (i.e., needs for approval and attention) in the relationship between different types of employee narcissism and work addiction.
Method. The study surveyed 1,001 individuals from Lithuanian organizations using a cross-sectional design with online self-report questionnaires. Work addiction was measured with the Bergen Work Addiction Scale (BWAS; Andreassen et al., 2012). Grandiose narcissism was assessed using the 16-item Narcissistic Personality Inventory (NPI-16; Ames et al., 2006), and vulnerable narcissism with the 10-item Hypersensitive Narcissism Scale (HSNS; Hendin & Cheek, 1997). Need for approval was measured with the 20-item Revised Martin-Larsen Approval Motivation Scale (MLAM; Martin, 1984), and need for attention with the 5-item attention-seeking subscale of the Brief Histrionic Personality Scale (BHPS; Ferguson & Negy, 2014).
Results. Vulnerable narcissism was positively related to work addiction through higher need for approval, and grandiose narcissism was positively related to work addiction through higher need for attention. Moreover, vulnerable narcissism showed a direct positive association with work addiction, whereas the direct link between grandiose narcissism and work addiction was not significant.
Conclusions. Our study confirmed the hypothesized mediating effects and advanced understanding of work addiction by demonstrating how personality-driven self-regulatory mechanisms contribute to its development and maintenance.