Premium
Scheduled to work hard: The relationship between non‐standard working hours and work intensity among European workers (2005–2015)
Author(s) -
Piasna Agnieszka
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
human resource management journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.44
H-Index - 77
eISSN - 1748-8583
pISSN - 0954-5395
DOI - 10.1111/1748-8583.12171
Subject(s) - work intensity , working time , work (physics) , flexibility (engineering) , demographic economics , working hours , intensity (physics) , work hours , duration (music) , operations management , labour economics , economics , statistics , engineering , mathematics , mechanical engineering , physics , quantum mechanics , art , literature
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.