Lean production, work intensification and employee wellbeing: Can line-manager support make a difference?

Abstract

Using a two-wave survey of 315 workers in a lean manufacturing plant, this study examines how work intensification affects employee wellbeing and how its effects may be ameliorated. It demonstrates that work intensification is transmitted into poorer wellbeing through greater emotional exhaustion. It shows that this mediation process is moderated by line-manager support, which buffers the relationship between emotional exhaustion and wellbeing. The study suggests that the health-impairing risks of high work intensity in lean settings can be reduced through better supervisory support. Ensuring that line managers have the opportunity, skills and motivation to offer good support to workers is a vital aspect of the interventions needed to counteract the health risks posed by lean production.

Off-the-job embeddedness moderates work intensity on employee stress

“…Intensive work intensitywhere an employee is required to routinely exert great effortis a feature of the modern work world as employers seek to obtain productivity improvement in an increasingly competitive globalised marketplace (Chowhan et al, 2019;Fein et al, 2017;Huo et al, 2019;Kohont and Cehovin Zajc, 2020). For employers, the strategy of work intensity can lead to increased employee performance through higher short-term output.…”

“…A feature of the modern world of work is the increase in work intensity (Chowhan et al, 2019;Huo et al, 2019;Kohont and Cehovin Zajc, 2020). The literature describes work intensity as the level of effort expected by employers of their employees in carrying out their work (Brown, 2012;Fein et al, 2017).…”

“…The literature has demonstrated that higher levels of work intensity are associated with negative employee outcomes, such as employee stress (Bamberger et al, 2015;Boxall and Macky, 2014;Burke et al, 2010;Zeytinoglu et al, 2007), emotional exhaustion (Boekhorst et al, 2017;Huo et al, 2019) and reduced personal efficacy and work involvement (Neirotti, 2020).…”

“…Second, this paper contributes to our understanding of the role of social support derived from non-work sources. There is substantial literature that examines the impact of social support from within the workplace (Huo et al, 2019), from line managers and co-workers. This paper argues that employees can benefit from sources of social support located outside the organisation, such as friends and family, connections to the people and activities of the local community (Treuren and Fein, 2021).…”

Understanding Learning Intention Complexities in Lean Manufacturing Training for Innovation on the Production Floor

“…From the literature, management's support [41,52,71], co-workers' and supervisors' support [41], as well as subordinates' support [39] can have positive influences on learning intention. It has also been established that supervisors' support and recognition could be beneficial for an intense lean production environment [72,73]. Workers are likelier to learn the content of the lean manufacturing training program if they believe that learning from the training is a desirable behavior to the people who are important to them.…”