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

• Author: Agnieszka Piasna
• Published date: 01 January 2018
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/1748-8583.12171
• Date: 01 January 2018

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ORIGINAL ARTICLE

Scheduled to work hard: The relationship between

non‐standard working hours and work intensity

among European workers (2005–2015)

Agnieszka Piasna

ETUI, Belgium

Correspondence

Agnieszka Piasna, ETUI, Bd du Roi Albert II, 5,

1210 Brussels, Belgium.

Email: apiasna@etui.org

Abstract

Work intensity is of central importance for organisational perfor-

mance, as well as workers' health and well‐being, yet its determi-

nants at the workplace‐level remain underresearched. This article

addresses this gap by examining consequences of working time

adjustmentsfor work intensity andthe role of control over scheduling

in influencing when working time adjustments have stronger effect

on work intensity. Working hours areanalysed 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 hourson work intensity differs dependingon who (workers

or employers) has control over their scheduling.

KEYWORDS

control and autonomy, flexible working time arrangements, non‐

standard workingtime, work effort, work intensity

1|INTRODUCTION

The importance of work intensity, defined as a compression of work activity within a given unit of time, for workers

and companies has surfaced in a variety of studies (e.g., Green, 2006; Karasek & Theorell, 1990). Rubery and

Grimshaw (2001, p. 167) list the intensity of work among nine major dimensions of job quality, emphasising its impli-

cations for physical and mental health, as well as for opportunities to have a satisfying personal and family life.

Debates about sources of work intensification in the recent decades have been predominantly concerned with

macro‐level influences such as increased competitive pressure, developmentsin production methods, or technological

change (Burchell, Ladipo, & Wilkinson, 2002; Green, 2004; Green & McIntosh, 2001; Lapido & Wilkinson, 2002). Less

attention has been paid to workplace‐level factors. There is some limited evidence to show that more intense work is

linked to a combination of certain approaches to the organisation of work, such as functional flexibility, organisational

Received: 13 January 2017 Revised: 8 August 2017 Accepted: 16 August 2017

DOI: 10.1111/1748-8583.12171

Hum Resour Manag J. 2018;28:167–181. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltdwileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/hrmj 167