Working to Live

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Working to Live or Living to Work: Should Individuals and Organizations Care?Author(s): Ronald J. BurkeSource: Journal of Business Ethics, Vol. 84, Supplement 2: Working to Live or Living to Work(2009), pp. 167-172Published by: SpringerStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/40294782 .

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Journalof BusinessEthics (2009) 84:167-172DOI 10.1007A10551-008-9703-6 Springer2008

Working to Live or Living to Work:ShouldIndividualsandOrganizationsCare? Ronald. Burke

ABSTRACT. This introductionsets the stage for theSpecialIssueand the manuscriptshat follow. Interest nwork hours,workintensification ndwork addictionhasgrown over the pastdecade.Severalfactorshave cometogetherto increasehoursspent at work, the natureofworkitself,andmotivations orworkinghard,particularlyamong managers ndprofessionals. he introduction irstreviews some of the known causesand consequencesoflong workhoursand the intensification f work.A case sthen madeas to why individuals, amilies,organizationsand society should care about hoursspent at work andworkaddiction.Individuals ndorganizations avesomechoice here. Mostemployeeswouldin factprefer o workfewerhoursthoughfew actually ealize heirpreferences.This collection lays out these choices and hopefullyencourages houghtand discussionof their merits.Longwork hours and work addiction harms ndividualsandtheir families and does not make organizationsmoreeffective.The introductionconcludeswith a briefsum-mary of the diverse contributions of an internationalgroupof leadingresearchersn this area.KEYWORDS: work hours, work addiction, socialcosts,ethical ssues

They lied. Hard work has killed lots of peopleThis Special Issue examines the long-hours workculture that exists in many organizationsand in manyprofessions. It considers why people work longhours and the risks and rewards of working longhours. Should organizations care about the numberof hours their employees work? Are work hours anethical issue?Should long work hours be a concern iforganizationsare to be truly socially responsible?Imagine this scenario. An organization is able tohave their employees work incredibly long hoursand not have to pay them any wages. Although thisis obviously unrealistic in most countries, it hasrecently come to light (November, 2007) that some

organizations in China had boys and girls workinglong hours for no pay, being kept as virtual slaves.However, now imagine that some organizations areable to have some employees work extra hours,typically overtime beyond the contract hours, andnot to pay their employees for these extra hours.This scenario does exist today. For years manyorganizations have had employees work unpaidovertime hours. Employees, however, are increas-ingly unwilling to work these unpaid hours and aresuccessfully taking their employers to court toreceive back payment (Orey, 2007) consider thefollowing:

IBM paid $65 million to 32,000 technicalandsupportworkers(November2006) Citigroup/Solomon Smith Barney paid$98 million to 20,000 current and formerstockbrokersJune20-06) UPS paid $87 million to 23,000 drivers(October2006) Casespending ncludeFedex,Wal-mart, ntel,SprintNextell, and CIBC amongothers.

Some occupationshave historicallybeen exemptfrom overtime including executives, professionals,cratives,administrators,nd outside salespeople.Other occupationsfall into ill-defined categories:storemanagers,ccountants, ndsales epresentatives.Work hourshasbecome a "hot topic"in the pastfew years.Some governmentand business eadershavestated hatemployeesneedto workmorehours(e.g., CanadaandFrance)f theircountriesare to re-main competitive.The evidence in the developed,industrialized,ndwealthier ountrieshasshownthatblue-collarworkersare now working fewer hoursthanearlier,while theirprofessional nd managerialcolleagues reworkingmorehours.Severalactors relikely at work here. More organizations perateon

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168 RonaldJ. Burkea 24/7 basis; there is more competitive pressure onorganizations; downsizings and cost containmentinitiatives have either increased the work load,reduced staffor both; new technology makes it pos-sible to work from anywhere at any time; increasingcompetition for fewer promotions as hierarchiesflatten, higher organizational performance expecta-tions; peer pressure;potential rewards,and in a smallnumber of instances,work life has been reportedto bemore satisfying than home life (Hochschild, 1997).There exist wide country differencesin averageyearlyhourswork; the U.S.A and U.K. arehigh, France,andGermany are low.There is also some evidence that work intensity(e.g., pace and level of responsibility) has alsoincreased during this time with a correspondingincrease in levels of reported workplace stress. Notsurprisingly,there have also been signs of decreasingjob satisfaction in some quarters during this sametime period. Although many companies may wanttheir employees to work more hours, mostemployees actually want to work fewer hours.Work hours have also become problematicbecauseof the changing demographics of the workforce.There are more women in the workforce, and manyof these women have home and family responsibilitiesmaking working long hours difficult. About 40% of124 working mothers in the U.S.A. surveyed byCareerbuilder.comsaidthey would take a pay cut if itbought them more time with their children. About23%of U.S.A. working mothers missed three of moresignificant events in their children's lives in the pastyears,and 28% saidtheirjobs negatively affectedtheirrelationshipwith their children. There are also moredual-earner families with children. In addition, theyounger generation of employees seem to be moreinterested in integratingboth their work and personallives thanwere the present generation of managersandprofessionals.What do we know about long work hours andwork addiction? There is research support for thefollowing observations.

The Japanese have coined a term, "karoshi,"to refer to death from overwork and havespecified the number of hours of consecutiveand total hours needed to qualify as such adeath.

Long work hours and overtime work havebeen found to be associated with adversepsychological and physical health difficulties. Long work hours and overtime work havebeen shown to be associated with negativefamily functioning. Most children want theirparents to work fewer hours and wouldtrade off material benefits for more timewith their parents. Some employees feel guilty about their workhours and how these affect their personaland family lives. Managers and professionals are often unableor unwilling to use all of their vacation time.There are even "how to" suggestions onmanaging your work while on vacations(e.g., have technology always available tocapture your thoughts, give staff your num-ber where you can be reached). Not surpris-ingly, the benefits of vacations on levels ofemployee stress tend to be short-live; withina few weeks it is "business as usual". About half of managersand professionalsworkduring their lunchtime. It hasbeen shown thatmanagers who take a complete break fromwork during lunchtime aremore productive. Long work hours and overtime work are asso-ciated with fewer hours of sleep. Sleep depri-vation is associated with increased on-the-jobaccidents, increased off-the-job accidents, andreduced job performance. Medical internsworking long hours have actuallyfallen asleepduring surgery and during patient interviews.In addition, medical interns working longhours report more car accidents and nearmissesafterwork. Some individuals report "leisure sickness,"emotional and physical symptoms while onvacation or on weekends. A recent study reported that Americans onaverage spend 38 hours per year stuck in traf-fic jams on the way to work. This figure didnot include commuting time. The highestfigure was 70 hours per year in Los Angeles.This adds to the work hours actuallyspent onthe job. There has been an increase in multi-taskingdoing several things at once. Multi-tasking



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Working o Live orLivingto Work 169has been shown to decrease performanceeffectiveness. Multi-tasking while driving(use of cell phones, sending and receivinge-mails) increases the risk of accidents.Different types of workaholics have beenidentified, some dissatisfied with their jobsand reporting psychological distress (e.g.,Work Addicts), while other types were moresatisfiedwith their jobs and reported psycho-logical well being (e.g., Work Enthusiasts)though both worked the same number ofhours per week. The key differences werewhy (motivations)and how (work behaviors)they worked hard.There are both performance and financialcosts to organizations from high levels ofemployee fatigue.Most theories of work motivation taught tobusiness students in MBA programs andexecutive development offerings have theeffect of enhancing work hours and worka-holic behaviors.There is evidence, however, that managersand professionals in "extreme jobs", jobs inwhich they worked 60-70 hours a week ormore, reported high levels of satisfaction,excitement, and commitment. They did,however, express some concern about theeffects of these hours on their well being andthat of their families, and some hoped towork fewer hours in the near future (Hewlett& Luce, 2006). Key factors in accounting forthese high levels of satisfaction were levels ofchallenge, rewards and perks, developmentopportunities, and a sense of meaning andaccomplishment.Under-aged workaholics? A study releasedby Statistics Canada showed that teens be-tween 15 and 19 spent about 7.1 hours perday on unpaid or paid labor. About 20% ofteens worked at a paid job for 5 hours onthe day the survey was conducted; and 16%of teens considered themselves to be worka-holics.Two studies of law students in the U.S.A.found that psychological well being de-creased during the first year of their studies;these decreases were correlated with reduced

levels of intrinsic motivation during theirfirst year and increases in "appearance" val-ues and decreases in "community service"values. These declines (intrinsic motivation,psychological well-being) continued in theirsecond and third years of study. Why didthese changes take place. The researchersidentified the following: excessive workloads,stress, competition for academic superiority,status seeking placement services, hierarchicalsymbols of worth, emphasis on analysis andlinear thinking, student intimidating teachingpractices, and abstract content in courses.Thus, the teaching taking place in the legalprofession thwarts growth. A common ste-reotype of lawyers, particularly in NorthAmerica, includes shallowness, greed, andhyper-competitiveness. Some organizations are taking actions toreduce work hours caused by pressures for"face time" and wasting hours on the job(e.g., fewer meetings, reducing unnecessaryreports). Surveys have reported that the aver-age employee reports wasting one hour aday at work and believe that their co-work-ers waste an hour and a half. Other organiza-tions, while not necessarily reducing hoursworked, offer employees greater flexibility inwhen these hours are worked, resulting ingreater satisfactionand less stress. There are larger societal movements under-way to reduce the time spent at work. Theseinclude the "in praise of slow" and "takeback your time" initiatives.

Why do people choose to work long hours? Forsomepeople they have little choice; working two jobs isnecessaryto make ends meet. Others may in fact havea choice. Several factors are likely to play a role inanswer this question. Feldman (2002) proposed amulti-level model as a starting point. His modelconsisted of four panelsof variables:Individualfactors- demographic and family status, personality; Jobfactors-job challenge, levels of intrinsic motivationand satisfaction provided; visibility of one's work'Organizational factors -socialization processes, lead-ership and culture; and Economic factors- competi-tive pressures,threat of layoffs.



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170 RonaldJ. BurkeSome people work hardbecausethey love theirjobs (Hedley,2006;Hewitt andLuce,2006). Otherswork hard for the financialrewards hat hard work

and career advancementbring. Materialism s adefining feature of many countries, particularlyNorth America, but increasinglyin developingcountries(e.g., China, India,and Russia).Materi-alism s commonlydefinedasplacingahighvalueonincome and material ossessions.ndividuals trive o"keepup with theJoneses"or move aheadof them.I recentlyread the following statement"On WallStreet, heseguystie alltheir self-esteem o theirnetworth."Researchfindingshave consistently hownthat materialisticndividuals core lower on happi-ness, life satisfaction, nd both mentaland physicalhealth. Materialistic ndividualsare more likely tosacrificethe fulfillment of other needs associatedwith well beingsuchasautonomy,competence,andrelatedness.That is materialistic ndividuals ail toaddress core psychologicalneeds associated withpersonalgrowth.Deckop et al. (2007), for example,examinedtheassociationof materialistvalues with work-relatedindicatorsof personalwell-being. Data were col-lected at two pointsin time from 274 managers ndprofessionals,bouttwo-thirdsbeing female. Mate-rialismwasfound to be associatedwith lower levelsof affectivecommitment, ntrinsicand extrinsicsat-isfaction,job and career satisfaction,and higherlevels of burnout.There are severalreasons then that individuals,organizationsand society as a whole should beconcernedabout the effectsof long work hours andwork addiction. These have been shown to beassociatedwith lower levels of employee psycho-logical and physicalhealth, lower levels of familyfunctioning, less effective job performance,andhigherhealthcare costs that are borneby societyatlarge. Unfortunately many organizationsbelievethat, in the short run at least, there are potentialeconomic benefits from long work hours, in partbecause the costs of these may be difficultto mea-sures(e.g., employeestrain, atigue)and these costsareexternalized o familiesand the broader ociety.Employees working long hours are less able toparticipate s citizens,and representa drainon thesocialwelfareandhealth caresystems.Organizationsodayareincreasinglyealizing hatemployees are vital to their long-term success.

Organizations eed to attract,nurture,developandretaintalent.They need to become an employerofchoice. They need to use the talents of ALLemployees, realizing hat women are disadvantagedin long work hours cultures.Many will state that"peopleare our mostimportant sset." t is time thattheycome to gripswith the long workhourscultureto act in accordancewith these espousedvalues.Effective and high performingorganizationsmeetthe needs of their people and the needs of thebusiness simultaneously. Healthy employees inhealthyorganizationsremorelikelyto achievepeakperformance.Purpose of this special issueThe purpose of this Special issue is to being anemerging body of research and writing into thebusinessethics and corporatesocial responsibilityarenas.It containscontributions, epresentingbothempiricalwork (Burke,KasserandSheldon,Geurtsand her colleagues,Kanai)and provocativeessays(Boje and Tyler, Dembe, Fry, Golden). The col-lection is inter-disciplinaryncludingmaterialsromthe fields of management,medicine,and organiza-tional psychology. The authors come from fourcountries(Canada,German, apan,and the U.S.A.)reflecting hewidespreadnterestbeingshownin thetopic of long work hoursand theireffects.Overview of the contentsFirst,DavidBoje andJo Tylerconsiderworkaholismin their own academic ives, in the movies of thepopularculture,and in the influenceof pursuitofthe American Dream. Using autoethnographicinquiry,theirwork buildson and addsto what hasalreadybeen reported, n new and exciting direc-tions.In deeplymoving, personalwaystheydescribetheirworkaholism nd its effectsandhow they haveattempted o remake their lives. In doing so, theirworksuggests everalpromisingeads or researchersinterested n understandingmore aboutthe sourcesof workaholism,an area hatis in desperateneed ofattention.AllardDembe then tacklesethical ssuerelating othe health and well-being effectsof long working



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Working o Live orLivingto Work 171hours directly. Studies are reviewed showing thatthere is an increasedlikelihood of illness, injuriesandfatigue-related errors among employees workinglong hours or working on night or evening shirts.Ethical considerations include: mandatory or unpaidovertime, employer coercion the political bases forgovernment regulation of working hours, theproblem of having individuals bear the risk of longwork hours, the equitable sharing of working hours,gender-based inequalities, and the responsibility ofemployers to protect family members from the spill-over effects of working long hours.Atsuko Kanai reviews the economic andemployment conditions in Japan and examines theworking style of Japanese men and its connectionto "Karoshi" - work to death. Karoshi is one ofthe outcomes of working long hours and Japan hasdeveloped work hours criteria for such deaths.Work hours have increased to a greater extentamong full-time employees in Japan. Besidesincreasing risk of death reflected in Karoshi ordisability, long work hours in Japan has increasedlevels of workaholism and work-family imbalance.The Japanese government is considering a possiblesolution to the long work hours "problem" butremedies are complex; national productivity levelsshould not be compromised.Lonnie Golden provides a brief history of work-ing hours in the U.S.A. ending with the currentpolarization of working hours (longer for managersand professionalsand shorter for blue collar work-ers). He then develops a comprehensive model toidentify possible motivations for more workerswanting to work more hours. Working long hours isa rational choice for many individuals and house-holds. He concludes with a range of individual- andpolicy-oriented recommendations to counteract theeconomic, social and institutional forces leading tooverwork.

Sabine Geurts and her colleaguesconsider whetherwork time control buffered the effects of overtimedemands on work-family interference. Data werecollected from 2377 workers n the Netherlandsusingquestionnaires.Three work time demands wereexamined: contracted hours, overtime hours andcommuting hours. Higher contracted and overtimehours were associatedwith higher levels of work-familyinterference.Work time control bufferedthe

influenceof work hours on work-family nterferencewhereas eave control lowered work-familyinterfer-ence and flextimebuffered he adverseeffect of longcontractual ours.Tim Kasser and Ken Sheldon first examine the"money buys happiness" assumption, and find littlesupport for its validity. They juxtapose "time afflu-ence" with "materialaffluence"; many people viewtime and money in similarways. They propose thattime affluence may be a way of improving one'shappiness. The results of four studies showed that,after controlling for material affluence, time afflu-ence was positively correlated with subjective well-being. Both mindfulness and the satisfaction of

psychological needs moderated the relationship oftime affluence and well-being.Ronald Burke and Lisa Fiksenbaum report theresults of three studies that examined the relationshipof measures of Passion, and of Addiction, with avariety of antecedents, work outcomes and indica-tors of psychological well-being. Data were collectedfrom Canadian MBA graduates,Australianpsychol-ogists, and Norwegian journalists using similarmeasures. Similar findings were observed in all threestudies. First, respondents scoring higher on Passionand on Addiction were more heavily invested intheir work. Second, respondents scoring higher onPassion also reported less obsessive job behaviors,greater work satisfactions and higher levels of psy-chological well-being. Third, respondents scoringhigher on Addiction indicated more obsessive jobbehaviors, lower work satisfactionsand lower levelsof psychological well-being. Thus one's motivationsfor work clearly distinguished work and well-beingoutcomes.Finally,Jody Fry and Melanie Cohen offer spiri-tual leadership as a way of reducing the negative

consequences of extended work-hour cultureswithout reducing financial performance. Spiritualleadership encompasses the values attitudes andbehaviors that are necessary to intrinsicallymotivateoneself and others creating a sense of well-beingthrough inclusion and appreciation. Organizationalleadership is central to transformingworkplace cul-tures in efforts to develop new business models thatemphasize ethical leadership, employee well-being,social responsibility and sustainability. Their workrepresentsa useful launch pad for these initiatives.



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172 RonaldJ. BurkeAcknowledgementPreparation of this manuscript was supported in part byYork University.

ReferencesDeckop, J. R., C. L. Jurkiewicz and R. A. Giacalone:2007, 'Can't Get no Satisfaction: The Effects ofMaterialism on Work-Related Personal Well-Being',Paper Presented at the 2007 Meeting of the Academyof Management, Philadelphia, August.Feldman, D. C: 2002, 'Managers' Propensity to Work

Longer Hours: A Multi-Level Analysis', HumanResourcesManagementReview 12, 339-357.Hedley, C. N.: 2006, 'What Does It Mean to "Love YourJob"? Investigating the Construct', Paper Presented at

the 2006 Meeting of the Academy of Management,Atlanta, August.Hewlett, S. A. and C. B. Luce: 2006, 'ExtremeJobs: TheDangerous Allure of the 70-Hour Work Week',HarvardBusinessReview December, 49-59.Hochschild, A.: 1997, The Time Bind (Henry Holt &Company, New York).Orey, M.: 2007, 'Does Your Boss Owe You Overtime?Wage Wars', BusinessWeekOctober 1, 50-54, 56-58,60.

Schulich School of Business,York University,4700 Keele Street, Toronto, ON,Canada M3J P3E-mail: [email protected]


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