The Overworked American Manager

1
Why Are We Eager to Work Long Hours? In Press,
JAP

Jeanne Brett, Northwestern University Linda
Stroh, Loyola University Chicago
2
Research Questions

• Why are American managers working such extreme
  hours?
• What is the personal toll and career impact of
  extreme work hours?
• Are the experiences of male and female managers
  different?

3
The Facts of Overwork

• From 1970 to 2000 American managers are working
  an additional month per year
• Today nearly 1.8m managers work 49 or more hours
  per week (40 of men 20 of women)
• Top executives are working 50-70 hours per week

Month of Work
4
In Extreme Examples

• Overwork causes stress
• Added stress causes anger
• Anger causes inappropriate behaviors
• Work Place Violence

5
Statistics Related to Overwork

• 54 stressed at work
• 49 express anger at work
• 15 angry enough to hit a co-worker
• 82 find technology stressful

6
Statistics Related to Overwork

• If you live on East Coast you are most stressed,
  most angry, and less satisfied at work
• If you live on the West Coast you are least
  stressed, least angry, and more satisfied with
  work
• If you live in the Midwest...

7
YET..

• American workers are working longer hours than
  ever before and
• Are in fact the most productive of all
  industrialized nations
• ButAmericans are not the most productive per
  hour
• Therefore, we work MORE.but not necessarily
  better

8
AMERICAN WORKERS

• Americans work
• 137 more hours per year than Japanese workers
• 260 more hours per year than British workers
• 499 more hours per year than French workers
• France official work week is 35 hours
• Europeans typically take 4-6 weeks of vacation
  per year
• ILO REPORT

9
Life in General is More Stressful

• For many people work had become a haven
• Job enrichment
• More involvement
• Greater autonomy
• Now, has work too has become more stressful too?
• More with less
• Shareholder value

10
Our Research

• 595 male and 301 female managers who graduated
  from a Midwestern University between 1980 and
  1990.
• Participant profile Males Females
• Average age 38 38
• Married 99 78
• Children at home 90 38
• Masters Degree 93 95
• Number of firms worked 3.4 3.8
• since entering workforce

11
Measures and Indicators

• Participants asked How many hours per week do
  you usually spend in each of the following
  activities?
• Housework (cooking, cleaning, repairs, yard work,
  money, bills)
• Childcare (taking care of / doing things
• with children)
• Work
• Leisure

12
Percent of Male and Female Managers by Time
Commitment to Work
Figure 1
Percent of Sample
Fewer than 40 hours per week
40-50 hours per week
51-60 hours per week
Greater than 60 hours per week
13
Explanations for Overwork

• Economic upheaval of the 1980s during which
  American industry was substantially reduced to
  make it more competitive and more profitable.

14
Percentages of Male and Female Managers Working
61 or More Hours per Week by Industry
Males
Females
15
Explanations for Overwork

• Economic upheaval of the 1980s during which
  American industry was substantially reduced to
  make it more competitive and more profitable.
• Social contagion- New employees accept long work
  hours as a means to fit into the company culture
  and supervisors extend these hours not be
  overshadowed by these motivated new entrants.

16
Overwork is Contagious

• Organizational cultures do differ it is hard not
  to be an overworker in a culture that rewards
  and supports that behavior.

17
Explanations for Overwork

• Economic upheaval of the 1980s during which
  American industry was substantially reduced to
  make it more competitive and more profitable.
• Social contagion- New employees accept long work
  hours as a means to fit into the company culture
  and supervisors extend these hours not be
  overshadowed by these motivated new entrants.
• An emotional respite from home (Hochschild)
• Many are using work as an escape from the
  emotionality, stress, and high expectations of
  home life.

18
Key test of Hochschild

• According to Hochschild, working long hours is a
  response to the stress of family life, not a way
  to alleviate family stress.
• Therefore, those working greater hours would
  be more stressed with home life, less involved
  with family and more dissatisfied with their home
  lives.

19
Test of Theory

• Both male and female managers who were working
  the longest hours were the least stressed by
  family (B-.13, p
• --Most women working long hours did not have
  children, yet are more satisfied with family than
  those who do have children these findings are
  inconsistent with the recent findings of Hewlitt
  (2002).

20
Family Involvement of Male and Female Parents by
Time Commitment to Work
High
Low
Fewer than 40 hours per week
40-50 hours per week
51-60 hours per week
Greater than 60 hours per week
21
Stress of Family Life on Work of Male and Female
Parents by Time Commitment to Work
High
Low
Fewer than 40 hours per week
40-50 hours per week
51-60 hours per week
Greater than 60 hours per week
22
Stress and Satisfaction

• Female managers working part-time to 50 hours per
  week perceive higher stress than male and female
  managers working longer hours.
• These women are not successfully escaping the
  family emotionality by working.
• These managers are trying to do
  too much at work and at home.

23
Stress and Satisfaction

• Our data are also inconsistent with the recent
  work of Hewlitt that suggests women without
  children are distraught with their family lives
• Those women in the 61 working category were
  predominantly childless, and appear to be more
  satisfied with their family lives than those
  working less hours and having less family stress.

24
Child Care Hours per Week of Male and Female
Parents by Time Commitment to Work
Hours
Fewer than 40 hours per week
40-50 hours per week
51-60 hours per week
Greater than 60 hours per week
25
Housework Hours per Week by Male and Female
Parents by Time Commitment to Work
Hours
Fewer than 40 hours per week
40-50 hours per week
51-60 hours per week
Greater than 60 hours per week
26
Time Commitment to Household

• Work does not appear to be an escape from family
  responsibilities.
• Men - Time commitment to children and housework
  does not vary as a function of their time
  commitment to work.
• Childcare - 19 hours per week
• Housework - 11 hours per week
• Women - Time commitment to household
• does vary as a function of work hours.

27
Time Commitment to Household

• Managers working the most hours are neither less
  involved or less satisfied with their family life
  than managers working fewer hours.

28
Self-Reported Time Crunch of Male And
FemaleManagers by Time Commitment to Work
High
Low
Fewer than 40 hours per week
40-50 hours per week
51-60 hours per week
Greater than 60 hours per week
29
Not enough time for family for Male and Female
Parentsby Time Commitment to Work
High
Low
Fewer than 40 hours per week
40-50 hours per week
51-60 hours per week
Greater than 60 hours per week
30
Self Reported Balance of Male and Female Managers
by Time Commitment to Work
Out of Balance
In Balance
Fewer than 40 hours per week
40-50 hours per week
51-60 hours per week
Greater than 60 hours per week
31
Self Reported Work Overload for Male and Female
Managers by Time Commitment to Work
High Overload
Low Overload
40-50 hours per week
51-60 hours per week
Fewer than 40 hours per week
Greater than 60 hours per week
32
Stress and Work Satisfaction

• The more hours managers work, the more overloaded
  they feel.
• Female managers feel this tension more strongly
  than male managers.
• Those managers working longer hours are neither
  more nor less satisfied with work

33
Family Structure Work

• What do we know?
• Women work roughly 15 hours longer than men (work
  and family) each week
• Working women spend roughly 3 1/4 hours per day
  on family care
• Men with working wives spend roughly less than
  two hours each week on family care
• Men do not trade off leisure for work/family
  women do

34
Summary of Evidence Relating to Hochschilds
Thesis

• No evidence that those working the longest
  hours are fleeing from an unsatisfying home life.
• Evidence that those working the longest hours
  maintain psychological involvement and
  substantial physical presence at home.
• Those working the longest hours, especially
  women, are stressed.
• Women without children working long hours are
  more satisfied with family life and do not appear
  to be distraught.

35
Explanations for Overwork

• Economic upheaval of the 1980s during which
  American industry was substantially reduced to
  make it more competitive and more profitable.
• Social contagion- New employees accept long work
  hours as a means to fit into the company culture
  and supervisors extend these hours not be
  overshadowed by these motivated new entrants.
• An emotional respite from home (Hochschild)
• Many are using work as an escape from the
  emotionality, stress, and high expectations of
  home life.
• The challenge and rewards of work--More managers
  today are motivated by the challenges they face
  in the workplace. They receive social
  recognition, financial compensation, power, and
  the opportunity to embrace more
• challenges ahead.

36
Why Do People Have Psychological Involvement in
Work?

• Work provides women, socialized to take
  responsibility for family, with a counter balance
  for family responsibilities.
• Work expands all workers base of social
  identity.

37
Work Identity of Male and Female Managers by
Time Commitment to Work
Figure 15
High
Low
Fewer than 40 hours per week
40-50 hours per week
51-60 hours per week
Greater than 60 hours per week
38
1995 Compensation (Salary plus Bonus) of Male and
Female Managers by Time Commitment to Work
Compensation
Fewer than 40 hours per week
40-50 hours per week
51-60 hours per week
Greater than 60 hours per week
39
Rewards of Work - Compensation

• Financial gain
• Males working less than 40 hours per week earning
  average of 117,600.
• Males working 61 hours per week earning average
  of 204,992.
• Females are not getting added compensation for
  working extra hours, which weakens financial gain
  as a cause for a greater time commitment to work.
• Increment in pay from 41-60 hours per week to 61
  hours per week.
• Males 55,000
• Females 4,000

40
Rewards of Work

• Managers willing to work more because
• Motivated by the challenge of work
• Generously rewarded (males) for their performance.

41
Rewards of Work - Challenge

• Challenge and rewards of the work itself
• Over 93 of survey respondents invested in a
  graduate education.
• Trained to manage organizations strategically.
• Success in their work gives social recognition,
  power, and opportunity to embrace other
  challenges
• Both male and female managers working the 61 per
  week most strongly identified with their work.
• Managers working 61 hours per week are being
  rewarded for their time commitment through
  successive and rapid promotions.

42
Is the Time Commitment To Work Necessary?

• Suspected that overwork is both a function of
• Too many tasks per job
• Pressure to complete on time what is assigned to
  you.

43
Leisure Activities

• Working women often compensate by having few, if
  any leisure activities (often also have little
  time for friendships)
• Regardless of hours worked, men seem to find time
  for leisure activities

44
What Did We Learn...

• Some overwork is self-induced
• Because we like what we do
• Therefore, we need to concern ourselves with
  balance
• Some overwork is workplace-induced
• We might consider finding a better
  work/low-stress fit