The Long Work Hours Culture: Causes, Consequences and Choices

Citation

Waheed, Z. (2010), "The Long Work Hours Culture: Causes, Consequences and Choices", Facilities, Vol. 28 No. 7/8, pp. 395-396. https://doi.org/10.1108/02632771011042491

A riveting read from the beginning, the volume presents a wide range of complex issues and concepts related to the culture around long work hours. Work hours, work intensity, its impact on employees and resultantly the organisation are discussed from numerous and distinctly varied points‐of‐view in this astounding collection of essays. The issues such as stress, ambition, job insecurity, work intensity, work's affects on family life and job addiction, are handled with subtle sensitivity that such issues require, but is coupled with rigorous attention to detail. The reader is able to “discover” and appreciate these issues from various angles and understand how the long work hours culture both cultivates and inhibits organizational development.

This definitive collection is rich in concept and is cleverly divided into three parts: Causes, Consequences and Choices. Each section contains a myriad of ideas, research findings and directives that managers can put to immediate use. “Causes” discusses the antecedents and motives behind the culture of long work hours including personal, societal and organisational factors. The relationship between long work hours and organisational effectiveness, happiness and economic benefit (to both worker and the organisation) are discussed. “Consequences” discusses work addiction, the adverse affects on employee health and the relationships between various related measures. The final section “Choices” is scientifically presented yet remains intensely thought provoking, perhaps because this book is about real issues that touch the lives of each and every one of us in the modern work‐intense society. “Choices” makes the clear point that there are choices to be made in the way organisations expect employees work and also in the decisions employees make to progress their careers. While technology is identified as an enabler of work addiction, psychological methods of overcoming the effects of long work hours and recovering from stress are thoroughly examined.

This collection brings together 13 essays written by 23 highly respected scholars from North America, Europe and New Zealand. While most contributions are by experts on human psychology and academics from management and business schools, the collection also boasts contributions of academics from various other backgrounds such as Organisational Psychology, Economics, Education, Labour Studies and Sociology. Each brings to the book a different take on the topic and present a wide range of issues related to what the “Long Work Hours” culture means for the workplace and the workforce. Hence, while the volume is pertinent for academics in these fields, it is equally relevant to management generalists, those with interest in strategy, human resource management and facilities management.