IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/bla/brjirl/v60y2022i2p324-347.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The intensification of work in Europe: A multilevel analysis

Author

Listed:
  • Dragoș Adăscăliței
  • Jason Heyes
  • Pedro Mendonça

Abstract

Using the most recent two waves of the European Working Conditions Survey (2010 and 2015) in a multilevel setting, the paper argues that national institutions have a significant effect on shifts in work intensity. We find that work has intensified in the aftermath of the economic crisis, but that intensification is restricted by labour market regulation and collective bargaining institutions. However, the effect of working time regulations varies across employment groups, with intensity levels for temporary agency workers increasing as regulations become more stringent. Furthermore, higher levels of unemployment intensify work for agency workers but not for workers on a fixed‐term contract relative to workers on a permanent contract.

Suggested Citation

  • Dragoș Adăscăliței & Jason Heyes & Pedro Mendonça, 2022. "The intensification of work in Europe: A multilevel analysis," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 60(2), pages 324-347, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:brjirl:v:60:y:2022:i:2:p:324-347
    DOI: 10.1111/bjir.12611
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1111/bjir.12611
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1111/bjir.12611?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. David Holman & Anthony Rafferty, 2018. "The Convergence and Divergence of Job Discretion Between Occupations and Institutional Regimes in Europe from 1995 to 2010," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 55(4), pages 619-647, June.
    2. Wajcman, Judy, 2005. "The Politics of Working Life," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780199271917 edited by Edwards, Paul.
    3. Duncan Gallie, 2005. "Work Pressure in Europe 1996–2001: Trends and Determinants," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 43(3), pages 351-375, September.
    4. Green, Francis & McIntosh, Steven, 2001. "The intensification of work in Europe," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 8(2), pages 291-308, May.
    5. Leo McCann & Jonathan Morris & John Hassard, 2008. "Normalized Intensity: The New Labour Process of Middle Management," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 45(2), pages 343-371, March.
    6. John T. Addison & Paulino Teixeira, 2003. "The Economics of Employment Protection," Journal of Labor Research, Transaction Publishers, vol. 24(1), pages 85-129, January.
    7. David E. Guest, 1990. "Have British Workers Been Working Harder in Thatcher's Britain? A Re-Consideration of the Concept of Effort," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 28(3), pages 293-312, November.
    8. Aleksynska, Mariya, 2018. "Temporary employment, work quality, and job satisfaction," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 46(3), pages 722-735.
    9. Chris Forde & Gary Slater, 2005. "Agency Working in Britain: Character, Consequences and Regulation," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 43(2), pages 249-271, June.
    10. Peter Berg & Eileen Appelbaum & Tom Bailey & Arne L. Kalleberg, 2004. "Contesting Time: International Comparisons of Employee Control of Working Time," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 57(3), pages 331-349, April.
    11. Harvie Ramsay & Dora Scholarios & Bill Harley, 2000. "Employees and High‐Performance Work Systems: Testing inside the Black Box," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 38(4), pages 501-531, December.
    12. Theo Nichols, 1991. "Labour Intensification, Work Injuries and the Measurement of Percentage Utilization of Labour (PUL)," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 29(4), pages 569-592, December.
    13. Gregg, Paul & Wadsworth, Jonathan (ed.), 2011. "The Labour Market in Winter: The State of Working Britain," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780199587377.
    14. Sangheon Lee & Deirdre McCann, 2011. "Negotiating Working Time in Fragmented Labour Markets: Realizing the Promise of ‘Regulated Flexibility’," Chapters, in: Susan Hayter (ed.), The Role of Collective Bargaining in the Global Economy, chapter 3, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    15. Brendan Burchell & Colette Fagan, 2004. "Gender and the Intensification of Work: Evidence from the European Working Conditions Surveys," Eastern Economic Journal, Eastern Economic Association, vol. 30(4), pages 627-642, Fall.
    16. Maria Floro & Anant Pichetpongsa, 2010. "Gender, Work Intensity, and Well-Being of Thai Home-Based Workers," Feminist Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 16(3), pages 5-44.
    17. Green, Francis & Weisskopf, Thomas E, 1990. "The Worker Discipline Effect: A Disaggregative Analysis," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 72(2), pages 241-249, May.
    18. Bowles, Samuel, 1985. "The Production Process in a Competitive Economy: Walrasian, Neo-Hobbesian, and Marxian Models," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 75(1), pages 16-36, March.
    19. Andrea Ichino & Regina T. Riphahn, 2005. "The Effect of Employment Protection on Worker Effort: Absenteeism During and After Probation," Journal of the European Economic Association, MIT Press, vol. 3(1), pages 120-143, March.
    20. Sabina Avdagic, 2015. "Does Deregulation Work? Reassessing the Unemployment Effects of Employment Protection," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 53(1), pages 6-26, March.
    21. Francis Green, 2004. "Work Intensification, Discretion, and the Decline in Well-Being at Work," Eastern Economic Journal, Eastern Economic Association, vol. 30(4), pages 615-625, Fall.
    22. Dragos Adascalitei & Clemente Pignatti Morano, 2016. "Drivers and effects of labour market reforms: Evidence from a novel policy compendium," IZA Journal of Labor Policy, Springer;Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 5(1), pages 1-32, December.
    23. Ian Clark, 2009. "Owners and managers," Work, Employment & Society, British Sociological Association, vol. 23(4), pages 775-786, December.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Argyro Avgoustaki & Hans T. W. Frankort, 2023. "All work intensity is not created equal: Effort motives, job satisfaction and quit intentions at a grocery chain," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 61(4), pages 869-894, December.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Francis Green & Alan Felstead & Duncan Gallie & Golo Henseke, 2022. "Working Still Harder," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 75(2), pages 458-487, March.
    2. Francis Green, 1999. "It's been a hard day's night: The concentration and intensification of work in late 20th century Britain," Studies in Economics 9913, School of Economics, University of Kent.
    3. Francis Green, 2000. "Why has Work Effort become more intense? Conjectures and Evidence about Effort-Biased Technical Change and other stories," Studies in Economics 0003, School of Economics, University of Kent.
    4. Nathalie Greenan & Ekaterina Kalugina & Emmanuelle Walkowiak, 2014. "Has the quality of working life improved in the EU-15 between 1995 and 2005?," Industrial and Corporate Change, Oxford University Press and the Associazione ICC, vol. 23(2), pages 399-428.
    5. Surhan Cam & Serap Palaz, 2023. "Mutual interests management with a purposive approach: Evidence from the Turkish shipyards for an amorphous impact model between (subjective) well‐being and performance," Industrial Relations Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 54(1), pages 40-70, January.
    6. Ruffo Hernán & Caullo Laura & Capello Marcelo, 2024. "Efectos de una reforma de la indemnización por despido en Argentina," Asociación Argentina de Economía Política: Working Papers 4760, Asociación Argentina de Economía Política.
    7. Drago, Robert & Black, David & Wooden, Mark, 2005. "The Existence and Persistence of Long Work Hours," IZA Discussion Papers 1720, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    8. Frederick Guy & Peter Skott, 2008. "Power, Productivity, and Profits," Springer Books, in: Matthew Braham & Frank Steffen (ed.), Power, Freedom, and Voting, chapter 20, pages 385-403, Springer.
    9. Fagan, Colette. & Norman, Helen. & Smith, Mark. & Gonzalez Menendez, María C., 2014. "In search of good quality part-time employment," ILO Working Papers 994839683402676, International Labour Organization.
    10. Böckerman, Petri & Bryson, Alex & Ilmakunnas, Pekka, 2012. "Does high involvement management improve worker wellbeing?," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 84(2), pages 660-680.
    11. Stefano Dughera, 2020. "Skills, preferences and rights: evolutionary complementarities in labor organization," Journal of Evolutionary Economics, Springer, vol. 30(3), pages 843-866, July.
    12. Belloc, Filippo & Burdin, Gabriel & Cattani, Luca & Ellis, William & Landini, Fabio, 2022. "Coevolution of job automation risk and workplace governance," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 51(3).
    13. Elwyn Davies & Marcel Fafchamps, 2017. "When No Bad Deed Goes Punished: Relational Contracting in Ghana versus the UK," NBER Working Papers 23123, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    14. Samuel Bowles & Herbert Gintis, 1993. "The Revenge of Homo Economicus: Contested Exchange and the Revival of Political Economy," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 7(1), pages 83-102, Winter.
    15. Nico Dewaelheyns & Cynthia Van Hulle & Yannick Van Landuyt & Mathias Verreydt, 2021. "Labor Contracts, Wages and SME Failure," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(14), pages 1-15, July.
    16. Nikolova, Milena & Cnossen, Femke, 2020. "What makes work meaningful and why economists should care about it," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 65(C).
    17. Pollio, Chiara & Landini, Fabio & Prodi, Elena & Arrighetti, Alessandro, 2023. "Does Temporary Employment undermine the Quality of Permanent Jobs?," GLO Discussion Paper Series 1273, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    18. Henri Fraisse & Francis Kramarz & Corinne Prost, 2015. "Labor Disputes and Job Flows," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 68(5), pages 1043-1077, October.
    19. Argyro Avgoustaki & Hans T. W. Frankort, 2019. "Implications of Work Effort and Discretion for Employee Well-Being and Career-Related Outcomes: An Integrative Assessment," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 72(3), pages 636-661, May.
    20. Sun, Xuan Sean & Habib, Ahsan & Bhuiyan, Md. Borhan Uddin, 2020. "Workforce environment and audit fees: International evidence," Journal of Contemporary Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 16(1).

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:bla:brjirl:v:60:y:2022:i:2:p:324-347. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/lsepsuk.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.