Held captive in the office: an investigation into long working hours among Korean employees

Work intensification: A systematic review of studies from 1989 to 2022

BACKGROUND

Work intensification can lead to both work-related and non-work-related outcomes that positively and negatively affect the employee, organization, and job in question. The criticality of this phenomena necessitates conducting a systematic review to capture the essence of the extant literature.

OBJECTIVE

This paper presents a systematic review of the literature on work intensification from 1989 to 2022. It reviews the conceptualization of the construct, explores the factors influencing work intensification, identifies its outcomes, moderators, and mediators, and provides a review of the theories that have been used to support the phenomena of work intensification.

METHODS

The systematic review employed the PRISMA approach to screen 2823 records from the Web of Science database and extract 74 quantitative studies for final examination.

RESULTS

Firstly, work intensification has primarily been conceptualized through various constructs such as workload, long work hours, and time pressure. Secondly, there are well-established positive and negative outcomes associated with work intensification, either directly or through mediators. Thirdly, both the conservation of resource theory and the job-demands resource theory are widely utilized to support models related to work intensification.

CONCLUSION

The study urges practitioners to enhance their efforts in effectively managing employees' intensified work demands, particularly in relation to work overload, working hours, and time pressure. By addressing these factors, organizations can minimize negative outcomes and promote positive consequences.

Moderating role of perceived work addiction of managers in the relationship between employees' perfectionism and work addiction: a trait activation theory perspective

Purpose

Earlier authors suggested that a combination of different factors leads to the development of work addiction, hereby indicating that no single perspective is enough to fully understand this phenomenon. Hence, the aim of this study was to examine the moderating role of perceived work addiction of managers in the relationship between employees' perfectionism and work addiction.

Design/methodology/approach

The present cross-sectional study was conducted on a convenience sample of 964 workers from different organizations in Lithuania. Data were collected by means of online self-administered questionnaires. To test the moderating effect, a covariance-based structural equation modeling (CB-SEM) path analysis was performed.

Findings

At the level of bivariate correlations, both self-oriented and socially prescribed perfectionism showed positive links with employees' work addiction. However, in structural equation models only self-oriented perfectionism was related to higher levels of work addiction. Further, although the results of the study did not confirm the assumption about the moderating effect of perceived work addiction of managers on the relationship between employees' self-oriented perfectionism and work addiction, the results showed that a positive relationship between employees' socially prescribed perfectionism and work addiction was strongest when a manager was perceived to be highly addicted to work.

Originality/value

The study enriched understanding of the roots of work addiction by employing trait activation theory (Tett and Burnett, 2003) and explaining how both dispositional and contextual factors interacted in predicting this phenomenon.

The Multidimensional Workaholism Scale in a Korean Population: A Cross-Cultural Validation Study

This study aimed to provide a reliable and valid measure of workaholism for Korean workers. We translated the Multidimensional Workaholism Scale (MWS) into Korean and validated it with a sample of 1020 full-time Korean employees. An exploratory factor analysis revealed a four-factor solution (Study 1; N = 524), and a confirmatory analysis further demonstrated good model fit of the four-factor structure (Study 2; N = 496). The scale’s concurrent and construct validity was supported by positive correlations with other existing measures of workaholism, emotional exhaustion, and work–family conflict (WFC) and by a negative correlation with psychological detachment. Moreover, the MWS demonstrated a moderate association with work engagement, but no significant association with job satisfaction. It further showed significant incremental validity in predicting emotional exhaustion and WFC. The findings support the Korean MWS version’s reliability and validity for measuring workaholism among Korean employees. Theoretical implications for the workaholism literature and practical implications for corporate counselors and human resource practitioners are discussed.

The Crossover Effects of Supervisors' Workaholism on Subordinates' Turnover Intention: The Mediating Role of Two Types of Job Demands and Emotional Exhaustion

Although much research has been conducted on workaholism, its crossover effects remain uninvestigated, especially in the context of organizations. Based on the job demands-resources (JD-R) model of burnout and the conservation of resources (COR) theory, we established a dual-path structural model to examine the effects of supervisors’ workaholism on subordinates’ turnover intention through two types of job demands (perceived workload and interpersonal conflict) as well as subordinates’ emotional exhaustion. The results revealed that supervisors’ workaholism is positively related to subordinates’ emotional exhaustion through increased perceived workload and interpersonal conflict, which result in subordinates’ turnover intention. This study has made a contribution to the literature by extending the scope of workaholism research from self-perspective to other-perspective. The findings also have practical implications for organizations and their human resources (HR) practitioners.

Health promotion program for office workers with SEM based on the WHO’s healthy workplace framework

This study attempts to develop and verify the effectiveness of a health promotion program for office workers based on the social ecological model and the World Health Organization’s Healthy Workplace Framework. This study involved 272 office workers of a small and medium-sized enterprise in Korea. Data were analyzed through descriptive statistics, repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) and Bonferroni correction using SPSS/WIN 23.0. Workplace environmental support was provided to all workers, while a 6-month intensive core program based on social support was implemented for the intensive management group. Based on the participation rate, individuals were divided into the core and dropout groups. In all office workers, there were negative changes in high-density lipoprotein cholesterol and job stress during the period. Meanwhile, the intensive group showed significant changes in body mass index and diastolic blood pressure. The study suggests that the organization’s support for a healthy environment and an individual’s continued participation based on social support are essential for the effectiveness of a health promotion program for office workers.

The Vicious Cycle of Work Life: Work Effort Versus Career Development Effort

Although much progress has been made toward establishing gender equality in organizations, women remain underrepresented in upper management positions. This study examines why women might be less likely than men to be promoted, even in organizations with high gender equality climates. Using a large sample of managers in South Korea, we hypothesized and found that women and men used different strategies regarding how to direct their effort to achieve promotions. Women with high self-efficacy under high gender equality climate focused on increasing work effort, whereas men in similar situations focused on increasing career development effort. We also found that only career development effort was positively related to promotion, whereas work effort was positively related to work stress and turnover intentions, and negatively associated with job satisfaction. Our results suggest that different effort strategies lead women to become caught in a vicious cycle of working hard and earning only unpleasant consequences.