Work Intensification, Work–Life Interference, Stress, and Well-Being in Australian Workers

The need to better understand the impact of changes in work conditions is paramount. While greater flexibility has considerable benefits, there may also be unintended consequences such as greater work intensification leading to poorer health and well-being. This research focuses on the unique variance in measures of well-being that is accounted for by work intensification, after accounting for the influence of working hours. The sample involved 391 participants who were employed at the time of the study. Using hierarchical multiple regression, we found that work intensification accounted for 7 percent of the unique variance in work–life integration and 5 percent of the unique variance in a measure of global life stress. In addition, our study provides evidence that work intensification operates to predict employee stress above and beyond the effects of work–life integration alone, while together both constructs account for 9 percent of the unique variance in a measure of global life stress. These results highlight the value of differentiating between different types of work demands and how these combine to predict employees’ well-being. In order to achieve better work–life balance, we need to consider both the structural aspects of work such as working hours, place of work, and working conditions, as well as the pace of work.