Scheduled to work hard: The relationship between non‐standard working hours and work intensity among European workers (2005–2015)

Abstract

Work intensity is of central importance for organisational performance, as well as workers' health and well‐being, yet its determinants at the workplace‐level remain underresearched. This article addresses this gap by examining consequences of working time adjustments for work intensity and the role of control over scheduling in influencing when working time adjustments have stronger effect on work intensity. Working hours are analysed on three dimensions: duration, distribution and flexibility. Analysis uses the European Working Conditions Survey (2005–2015) and a sample of employees from EU28 countries. Findings reveal that work intensity is closely related to the timing of work. Working long days or weeks, at night, on weekends, and with changes in hours imposed by employers is associated with more intense work. Moreover, the impact of non‐standard hours on work intensity differs depending on who (workers or employers) has control over their scheduling.

Examining the link between flexible working arrangement bundles and employee work effort

“…A criterion for the categorization of FWAs that stands out in extant literature, and is of particular interest to the current article, is to whom FWAs might be of primary interest. Based on this criterion, the literature divides FWAs into employee‐centered and employer‐centered practices (Chung & Tijdens, ; Hill et al, ; Piasna, ). Employee‐centered FWAs are those practices that primarily serve employees' interests, giving them some control and allowing them to balance work and family or other nonwork responsibilities.…”

“…First, prior research has tended to examine one or a small number of FWAs and their relation to work effort. However, firms commonly expose employees to multiple related FWAs (Bloom et al, ; Pas, Peters, Doorewaard, Eisinga, & Lagro‐Janssen, ; Piasna, ; Stavrou, ). Thus, focusing on only a subset of such practices might be problematic because employees likely respond to the bundle of combined FWAs rather than individual practices in a vacuum.…”

Motivational Drivers of Extensive Work Effort: Are Long Hours Always Detrimental to Well‐being?

“…In terms of managerial issues, it must be noted that human resources (HR) specialists have been highly interested in identifying HR practices that drive employee work effort and high performance (Jiang et al 2012; Piasna 2018). Controversy exists around the extent to which these practices intensify work and increase performance at the expense of employee well‐being (Guest 2017).…”

Work intensification and ambidexterity - the notions of extreme and ‘everyday’ experiences in emergency contexts: surfacing dynamics in the ambulance service

“…Zhang and Seo (2018), echoing contextual ambidexterity, analysed the social contextual antecedents influencing long working patterns identifying that long working hours were associated with lower job satisfaction and psychological distress. Equally, Piasna (2018) analysing data from the European Working Conditions Survey 2005-2015, found evidence of a co-relation between work intensification and long shift patterns, out of hours work and rota patterns imposed by employers. Poor workplace relationships in other healthcare settings, resulting in lower engagement and psychological well-being, have also been recorded (Brunetto et al 2018(Brunetto et al , 2016Kilroy et al 2016).…”