A multidimensional approach to working time [Elektronische Ressource] / vorgelegt von Holger Steinmetz

Sujets

• Psychologie

Informations

• Publié par: justus-liebig-universitat_giessen
• Publié le: 01 janvier 2007
• Nombre de lectures: 6
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

A multidimensional approach to working time







Inaugural-Dissertation
zur
Erlangung des Doktorgrades
der Philosophie des Fachbereiches Psychologie
der Justus-Liebig-Universität Gießen





vorgelegt von
Holger Steinmetz

aus
Friedrichsdorf


2007









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Dekan: Prof. Joachim C. Brunstein
1. Berichterstatter: Prof. Michael Frese
2. Berichterstatter: Prof. Peter Schmidt
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Acknowledgements

First of all, I thank my doctor father Prof. Michael Frese for his ongoing inspiration and tremen-
dous effort spent on evaluating my research. He always provided me with valuable feedback and
helped me to find blind spots in my work. I especially thank him for keeping his patience and
self-discipline in some discussions with me – something which surely was not always easy.
I also thank Prof. Peter Schmidt who taught me so much about methodology and always was a
source of vision and hope – scientifically as well as emotionally.
I also thank my colleagues (Christine König, Dr. Jens Unger, Michael Gielnik, Katharina Tornau,
Ronald Bledow, and Hannes Zacher) who created a comfortable work atmosphere and often
served as sources of emotional and instrumental support. I thank my friends (Katja and Marc
Haase, Alex Stahr, Patty Rieke, and Birgit Steinmetz) who supported me even in difficult times
(in this dissertation, I will say much about work-home interference later but I gained much ex-
perience what “strain spillover” really means).
I especially thank my colleague Christine König, my brother Uwe Steinmetz, Lisa Trierweiler,
and my friend Katja Haase, for proofreading some chapters of this dissertation.



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”Time is the fire in which we burn”

Malcolm McDowell as “Dr. Soran” to Patrick Steward as “Jean-Luc Picard” in “Star Trek –
Generations”



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Abstract
In the last decades, the organization of working time has changed considerably. Forced by
an increased competition, organizations have begun to expand operation time and to flexibly use
their workforce which resulted in an increase of shift work, part-time employment, and com-
pressed workweeks. In a similar vein, the higher share of the service sector in the total economy
has led to a widespread emergence of part-time work and shift work. On the other hand, weekly
working time has decreased in many countries since the Second World War as a result of consid-
erations of employees’ needs for work-life balance. All of these changes have led to a consider-
able diversification of working time.
From the scientific point of view, the investigation of effects of working time on health, job
performance and work-life balance has emerged largely isolated from each other. Consequently,
there was research investigating consequences of the various scheduling forms.
In this dissertation, I propose four dimensions that serve to describe working time and that
constitute the various working time schedules. These are the (i) working time duration (i.e., how
long does the individual work), (ii) the mean time of day (i.e., at which time of the day does the
individual work, on average), (iii) the working time variation (is the working time stable or fluc-
tuating within a certain period), and (iv) the number of shifts (i.e., how often does the individual
work within the period). In the first place, the multidimensional approach is a descriptive attempt
as every individual’s working time can be located within the four dimensions. For instance, rotat-
ing shift work is primarily characterized by a late mean time of day, high variation, and moderate
duration. Consequently, the multidimensional approach serves to integrate the different working
time literatures. Second, my argument is that these four dimensions are the relevant causal factors
that lead to consequences of working time (e.g., work-home interference, ill-health, or decre-
ments in job performance).
After a brief introduction of prominent working time schedules, I describe an empirical in-
vestigation using a sample of 387 employees from the German working population. Accordingly,
one study (chapter 6) analyzed the relationship between the four working time dimensions and
work-home interference and between work-home interference and further consequences (depres-
sion, job satisfaction, turnover motivation, and job performance). As a second aim, this study
investigated if the relationship between the working time dimensions and work-home interference
were moderated by gender, partner status (i.e., living together with a partner or not), child status
(i.e., being parent or non-parent), and schedule autonomy (i.e., having the opportunity to influ-
ence working time). The results showed significant relationships between work-home interfer-
ence and working time duration, mean time of day, and variation. Furthermore, work-home inter-
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ference was significantly related to depression, job satisfaction, turnover motivation, and two job
performance dimensions (meeting deadlines and quality). Finally, the associations between work-
ing time and work-home interference were not moderated by gender, partner and child status and
schedule autonomy.
The second study (chapter 7) investigated the relationship between duration, mean time of
day, variation, and two job stressors (time pressure and role ambiguity) and ill-health. The results
suggested significant relationships for mean time of day, duration, and role ambiguity. Surpris-
ingly, the relationship between duration and ill-health was negative, indicating better health for
individuals working long hours.
The third study (chapter 8) longitudinally investigated antecedents (working time duration
and job stressors) and outcomes of work-home interference (depression and turnover motivation).
The results of this study showed a synchronous (i.e., short-term) effect of duration on work-home
interference. Furthermore, this study revealed a cyclical model with a job stressors depression
work-home interference job stressors pathway.
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fififi
Table of Contents
1 Introduction ........................................................................................................... 9
2 Working Time Schedules .................................................................................... 11
2.1 Shift Work .11
2.2 Part-Time Employment .12
2.3 The Compressed Workweek .14
2.4 Flexitime .14
3 A Multidimensional Approach to Working Time .............................................. 16
4 Measurement of Working Time.......................................................................... 19
4.1 Working Time Duration .19
4.2 Mean Time of Day .19
4.3 Working Time Variation .20
4.4 The Number of Shifts .20
4.5 An Example .20
5 The Study ............................................................................................................. 22
5.1 The Sample .22
5.2 Descriptive results for the Working Time Dimensions .23
5.3 Working Time and Work . 26
5.4 Reliability, Accuracy, and Representativeness of the Working Time Measures . 30
6 Working Time, Work-Home Interference, Well-being, and Job Performance:
The Role of Working Time Dimensions............................................................. 35
6.1 Introduction .36
6.2 Working Time and WHI .38
6.3 The Consequences of WHI .42
6.4 Method .44
6.5 Results .52
6.6 Discussion .65
7 Subjective health and its relationship with working time and job stressors:
Sequence or general factor model? .................................................................... 70
7.1 The Sequence Model .71
7.2 The Effects of Working Time on Health . 74
7.3 The General Factor Model .75
7.4 Method .77
7.5 Results . 81
7.6 Discussion . 85
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8 A longitudinal panel study on antecedents and outcomes of work-home
interference ......................................................................................................... 90
8.1 Longitudinal research on WHI .92
8.2 Theoretical models .98
8.3 Method 100
8.4 Results 105
8.5 Discussion 111
9 Summary and Conclusion ................................................................................. 114
9.1 Summary and Discussion 114
9.2 Conclusion 117
10 References ........................................................................................................ 118
11 Appendix A: Used Scales................................................................................. 134
12 Appendix B: Correlations between working time, objective job conditions,
................................... 155 social networks, career opportunities, and satisfac