Understanding the Relationship between Overtime and Burnout

Association between hours of work and subjective well-being. How do physicians compare to lawyers and accountants?

Analyses of physician well-being typically rely on small and unrepresentative samples. In April 2011, the UK Office for National Statistics incorporated subjective well-being metrics (SWB) into the Annual Population Survey (APS), a well-established survey. This survey includes variables from the labor market, making APS an ideal source for measuring the association between work hours and SWB metrics and comparing among different professionals. Using APS data from 2011/12 to 2014/15, this study examined the association between SWB levels and work hours using multiple linear models for physicians (primary care physicians and hospital doctors), lawyers, and accountants. Of the 11,810 observations, physicians were more satisfied, happier, and less anxious; females were more stressed (10.7%); and age was negatively associated with happiness and satisfaction. Incorporating information on preferences to work more hours (underemployment) did not affect physicians' but worsened the well-being of other professionals (lawyers and accountants). Surveyed physicians were less anxious, happier, and more satisfied than lawyers or accountants before Covid. Although the total work hours did not alter the SWB metrics, overtime hours for other professionals did. Increasing the working hours of underemployed physicians (with appropriate compensation) could be a relatively inexpensive solution to tackle the shortage of health workers in the short run.

Long Work Hours, Overtime, and Worker Health Impairment: A Cross-Sectional Study among Stone, Sand, and Gravel Mine Workers

Background: Research has shown that long work hours and overtime are associated with health impairment, including stress, burnout, and overall health. However, this has not been thoroughly assessed among stone, sand, and gravel mine workers. As such, this study examined whether significant differences in stress, burnout, and overall health existed among workers that worked different hours each week. Methods: ANOVA analyses were completed for the outcome variables (stress, burnout, and health status). Each analysis included three categorical independent variables: age, sex, and work hours. Age and sex were control variables. BMI was added to the health status analysis as an additional control variable. Results: There were significant differences between work hour groups for all three outcomes. Post hoc analyses determined that workers working >60 h/week had more stress, more burnout, and lower health. Differences were not found between age or sex. There were no differences in health status for different BMI groups, but the interaction of BMI and work hours was significant. Conclusions: Working more than 60 h per week was problematic. Mine and safety administrators should enact programs to protect and promote worker health, particularly among those working long hours, especially if more than 60 h per week.

Burnout and Its Antecedents: Considering Both Work and Household Time Claims, and Flexibility in Relation to Burnout

This study contributes to the previous literature by examining how flexible work arrangements interact with work and family time claims to affect burnout. It does so by providing a theoretical framework and empirical test of the interaction of flexibility with the effect of work and family time claims on burnout. Hypotheses and predictions based on previous literature are tested by Ordinary Least Squared regression models using data from the Time Competition Survey, constituting a sample of 1,058 employees of 89 function groups within 30 organizations. We found no main effects of work and family time claims or flexible work arrangements on burnout. However, the results do show an interaction of flexible working hours with the effect of work and family time claims on burnout. Specifically, the higher an individual's work and family time claims, the more this person benefits from having flexible working hours. In general, the results support the proposition that the relationship between work and family time claims and burnout differs for individuals with different levels of flexible work arrangements.

The physical activity paradox: a longitudinal study of the implications for burnout

Purpose

This study investigates the independent and interactive associations of physical job demands and three types of off-job physical activity (during transportation, household, and recreation) with burnout. We use a recently proposed new conceptualization and assessment of burnout including core and secondary burnout symptoms. We predicted that physical job demands would be positively and the three types of off-job physical activity would be negatively related to burnout. Further, we hypothesized that the negative relations between the three types of off-job physical activity and burnout would be stronger for employees with low (vs. high) physical job demands.

Methods

To test our hypotheses, we conducted a two-wave survey study among a heterogeneous sample of full-time workers (N = 355), using a longitudinal design with a half-year time lag. We tested cross-sectional, prospective and longitudinal relations.

Results

Hierarchical regression analyses partly confirmed our predictions. Cross-sectionally and prospectively, it was shown that physical job demands were positively related to burnout symptoms. In addition, off-job physical activity was negatively related to primary and secondary burnout symptoms among employees with low physical job demands and positively related to burnout symptoms among employees with high physical job demands. However, these relationships disappeared when investigated longitudinally.

Conclusion

Together, these findings suggest that not all off-job physical activities can prevent burnout, and that potential positive effects of physical activity during off-job time may depend on employees’ physical activity level at work.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s00420-021-01759-y.

The Influence of Work-Family Conflict on Burnout during the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Effect of Teleworking Overload

If there is any field that has experienced changes as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is work, primarily due to the implementation of teleworking and the effort made by workers and families to face new responsibilities. In this context, the study aims to analyze the impact of work–family conflict on burnout, considering work overload, in teleworkers during the COVID-19 pandemic. To evaluate the hypotheses, we used data collected during the last week of July 2020 using an online survey. Work–family conflict and burnout were measured using the Gutek et al. (1991) and Shirom (1989) scales. We tested the hypotheses using a structural equation model (SEM). The results indicated, between other findings, that there was a positive relationship between work–family conflict and family–work conflict and all the dimensions of burnout. However, there was no effect of teleworking overload in the work–family conflict and burnout relationship. This article is innovative because it highlights the importance of the economic and regulatory conditions that have surrounded the modality of teleworking during the pandemic, and their influence on wellbeing and psychosocial risks in workers.

The Complexity of Heavy Work Investment (HWI): A Conceptual Integration and Review of Antecedents, Dimensions, and Outcomes

The purpose of this paper is to bring conceptual clarity to the heavy work investment (HWI) construct while building a model based on a review of extant empirical and theoretical research and to encourage further discussion and investigations regarding the nature of HWI, specifically its individual level antecedents, dimensions, and outcomes for both the employee and the organization. The proposed theoretical framework builds upon the Job Demands–Resources model and conceptualizes HWI on a continuum of workaholism and work engagement. Specific propositions for the antecedents and outcomes of the HWI continuum are developed. The paper ends with a discussion of future research directions.

How Does Work Motivation Impact Employees' Investment at Work and Their Job Engagement? A Moderated-Moderation Perspective Through an International Lens

This paper aims at shedding light on the effects that intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, as predictors, have on heavy work investment of time and effort and on job engagement. Using a questionnaire survey, this study conducted a moderated-moderation analysis, considering two conditional effects-worker's status (working students vs. non-student employees) and country (Israel vs. Japan)-as potential moderators, since there are clear cultural differences between these countries. Data were gathered from 242 Israeli and 171 Japanese participants. The analyses revealed that worker's status moderates the effects of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation on heavy work investment of time and effort and on job engagement and that the moderating effects were conditioned by country differences. Theoretical and practical implications and future research suggestions are discussed.