Research links poor management to higher work intensity

Work intensity is significantly higher under poor line managers, according to new research led by Bayes Business School (City St George’s, University of London) that could have strong implications for occupational health and the government’s Get Britain Working scheme.

Each year, work-related stress, depression and anxiety account for more than 22 million lost working days in the United Kingdom. Work intensity is believed to be a key contributor to this, with worsening mental health and burnout hampering workforce productivity and increasing the burden on healthcare systems.

The research by Hans Frankort, Professor of Strategy at Bayes, along with Professor Argyro Avgoustaki, ESCP Business School, examined employee data from the 2015 European Working Conditions Survey (EWCS) and the 2015 and 2018 American Working Conditions Surveys (AWCS). Key findings indicate:

• Higher perceived quality of a line manager predicts lower work intensity of team members, consistent with supervisors able to effectively shield workers from work-related stressors
• Although managers typically work at higher intensity than subordinates, the decrease in work intensity from a moderate rise in perceived line-manager quality is greater than the difference in intensity between managers and non-managers
• The pattern is more pronounced in small or private organisations, and environments without employee representation (including unions)
• The same trends persist regardless of employee personality types and levels of individual competence
• Work intensity is also found to be directly impacted by the manager and not the organisation. The relationship between supervisor quality and work intensity holds for employees who remain with the same employer but encounter managerial changes.

Researchers analysed European and American survey data specifically around quality of bosses and work intensity. Data captured seven-point scale responses to questions “Does your job involve working at very high speed?” and “Does your job involve working to tight deadlines?” ranging from ‘never’ to ‘all of the time’, along with a five-point response to the statement “You have enough time to get the job done”,from ‘always’ to ‘never’.

Line manager quality was measured using a total of worker evaluation scores of boss characteristics, including responses to seven statements for European data and seven for American data, generating an overall score of boss quality.

Relationships were then examined between the measures of boss quality and work intensity, with US data also shedding light on changes across time.

Professor Hans Frankort said:

“Rather than duration of work, work intensity refers to the amount of effort required of an employee per unit of their working time. It not only determines job satisfaction but has strong implications for occupational health.

“Consistently working at high intensity creates both mental and physical fatigue which, coupled with long hours, can lead to exhaustion and deteriorating wellbeing.

“With the UK currently tackling large-scale productivity challenges and rising levels of long-term sickness among the working-age population, our research implies the best bosses are capable of recognising early signs of intensity and reducing workloads during busier periods to ease the risk of burnout.

“While some occupations inevitably require more frequent bursts of high intensity than others, managers should recognise risks to provide additional resourcing, encourage regular breaks and ensure adequate holiday allowance.

“The study suggests better training could improve managers’ recognition of work intensity, which could in turn help more people avoid negative mental health outcomes and keep them in work.”

‘Boss Quality and Employee Work Intensity: Evidence from Europe and the United States’ by Professor Hans Frankort and Professor Argyro Avgoustaki is published in Industrial Relations.

ENDS

Notes to Editors

1. The European Working Conditions Survey (EWCS) 2015 is a random sample of 44,000 European workers across 35 European countries, including the EU-27, Albania, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Norway, Serbia, Switzerland, Turkey, and the United Kingdom. Sample size of data collected from EWCS (2015) was 25,429.
2. The American Working Conditions Survey (AWCS) is a nationally representative survey of US workers developed by researchers at the RAND Corporation, Harvard University, and UCLA. Sample size of data collected across AWCS 2015 and 2018 was 2,743.