Abstract
What are some of the key historical trends in hours of work per worker in US? What economic, social-psychological, organizational and institutional forces determine the length of individuals’ working hours? How much of the trend toward longer working hours among so many workers may be attributable to workers’ preferences, workplace incentives or employers’ constraints? When can work become overwork or workaholism – an unforced addiction to incessant work activity which risk harm to workers, families or even economies? The first part of this article traces the history of the length of working hours and its recent polarization. The second part develops a multi-disciplinary model to identify motivations behind working longer hours. Individuals' desired work hours will stem from the weighted contribution of five sources: (1) current real wage rates; (2) forward-looking, wage trajectories; (3) relative status associated with hours of labor; (4) intrinsic rewards, process benefits or amenities acquired through work; (5) hours demanded by the employer and other structural constraints, to which workers may adapt. Employers and their established conditions of work have influenced the course of long run trends labor supply and in work time structures. The final section suggests policies that might address the persistence of long hours.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Aguiar M., & Hurst E. (2007). Measuring Trends in Leisure: The Allocation of Time over Five Decades. Quarterly Journal of Economics, 122(3), 969–1006
Alesina A., Glaeser E., & Sacerdote B. (2005). Work and Leisure in the U.S. and Europe: Why So Different? NBER Macroeconomic Annual 2005, 20, 1–64
Altman M. (1999). New Estimates of Hours of Work and Real Income in Canada from the 1880s to 1930: Long-Run Trends and Workers’ Preferences. Review of Income and Wealth, 45(3), 353–372
Altman M. (2001). Preferences and Labor Supply: Casting Some Light into the Black Box of Income-Leisure Choice. Journal of Socio-Economics, 30, 199–219
Altman, M. and L. Golden: 2004, ‹Alternative Approaches of Regulating Hours’, in M. Oppenheimer and N. Mercuro (eds.), Alternative Approaches in Law and Economics (pp. 286–307)
Altonji, J. and J. Oldham: 2003, ‹Vacation Laws and Annual Work Hours’, Economic Perspectives: Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago Fall, 19–29
Alvarez-Cuadrado F. (2007). Envy, Leisure, and Restrictions on Working Hours. Canadian Journal of Economics/Revue canadienne d’Economique, 40(4), 1286–1310
Argandona A. (2003). The New Economy: Ethical Issues. Journal of Business Ethics, 44(1), 3–22
Atack J., Bateman F., & Margo R. (2003). Productivity in Manufacturing and the Length of the Working Day: Evidence from the 1880 Census of Manufacturers. Explorations in Economic History, 40(2), 170–194
Bell, L. and R. B. Freeman: 1995, ‹Why do Americans and Germans Work Different Hours?’, in F. Butler, W. Franz, R. Shettkat and D. Soskice (eds.), Institutional Frameworks and Labor Market Performance: Comparative Views on the US and German Economies
Bernanke B., & Powell J. (1986). The Cyclical Behavior of Industrial Labor Markets: A Comparison of the Pre War and Post War Eras. In R. J. Gordon, (Ed.), The American Business Cycle: Continuity and Change (pp. 583–737). Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press
Bernstein J., & Kornbluh K. (2005). Running Faster to Stay in Place: The Growth of Family Work Hours and Incomes. Washington DC: New America Foundation, Work and Family Program, June
Bienefeld M. (1972). Working Hours in British Industry: An Economic History. London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson
Bluestone B., & Rose S. (1998). Macroeconomics of Work Time. Review of Social Economy, 56, 425–441
Blyton, P.: 1989, ‹Work Time Reductions and the European Work-Sharing Debate’, in A. Gladstone (ed.), Current Issues in Labour Relations: An International Perspective (Walter de Gruyter, New York)
Bosch G. (1999). Working Time: Tendencies and Emerging Issues. International Labour Review, 138(2), 131–149
Bourdieu, J. and B. Reynaud: 2001, Externalities and Institutions: The Decrease in Working Hours in Nineteenth Century France (Laboratoire d’Economie Appliquee, Research Unit Working Paper 00-01, Paris France)
Bowles S., & Park Y. (2005). Emulation, Inequality, and Work Hours: Was Thorsten Veblen Right? The Economic Journal, 115(507), F397–F412
Brett J., & Stroh L. (2003). Working 61 Plus Hours a Week: Why do Managers do It? Journal of Applied Psychology, 89(1), 67–78
Brody D. (1989). Time and Work During Early American Industrialism. Labor History, 30, 5–46
Buelens M., & Poelmans S. (2004). Enriching the Spence and Robbins’ Typology of Workaholism: Demographic, Motivational and Organizational Correlates. Journal of Organizational Change Management, 17(5), 440–458
Burgoon B., & Baxandal P. (2004). Three Worlds of Working Time: The Partisan and Welfare Politics of Work Hours in Industrialized Countries. Politics & Society, 32(4), 439–473
Burke R. (1999). It’s not How Hard you Work but How you Work Hard: Evaluating Workaholism. International Journal of Stress Management, 6(4), 225–239
Carlsson F., Johansson-Stenman O., & Martinsson P. (2007). Do you Enjoy Having more than Others? Survey Evidence of Positional Goods. Economica, 74(296), 586–598
Coleman M., & Pencavel J. (1993). Changes in Work Hours of Male Employees, 1940 1988. Industrial and Labor Relations Review, 46(2), 262–283
Costa D. L. (1998). The Unequal Work Day: A Long-Term View. American Economic Review, 88(2), 330–334
Cross, G.: 1988, ‹Worktime in International Discontinuity, 1886–1940’, in G. Cross (ed.), Worktime and Industrialization: An International History (University of Pennsylvania Press, Philadelphia)
Douglas E., & Morris R. (2006). Workaholic, or Just Hard Worker? Career Development International, 11(5), 394–417
Drago R. (2000). Trends in Working Time in the US: A Policy Perspective. Labor Law Journal, 51(4), 212–218
Drago, R., D. Black and M. Wooden: 2005, The Existence and Persistence of Long Hours. IZA Discussion Paper No. 1720, Bonn Germany, August
Eastman W. (1998). Working for Position: Women, Men, and Managerial Work Hours. Industrial Relations, 37, 51–66
Ellingsen T., & Johannesson M. (2007). Paying Respect. Journal of Economic Perspectives, 21(4), 135–149
Epstein C. F., & Kalleberg A. (2004). Fighting for Time: Shifting Boundaries of Work and Social Life. New York: Russell Sage Foundation
Feldman D. (2002). Managers’ Propensity to Work Longer Hours: A Multilevel Analysis. Human Resource Management Review, 12, 339–357
Frank R. H. (1999). Luxury Fever. New York: The Free Press
Fraser S., & Paton D. (2003). Does Advertising Increase Labour Supply? Time Series Evidence from the UK. Applied Economics, 35(11), 1357–1368
Galinsky E., Bond J., Kim S., Backon L., Brownfield E., & Sakai K. (2005). Overwork in America: When the Way We Work Becomes too much. New York: Families and Work Institute
George D. (1997). Working Longer Hours: Pressure from the Boss or from Marketers? Review of Social Economy, 55(1), 33–65
Gershuny J. (2005). Busyness as the Badge of Honor for the New Superordinate Working Class. Social Research, 72(2), 287–314
Golden, L.: 1990, ‹The Insensitive Workweek: Trends and Determinants of Average Hours in U.S. Manufacturing, 1929–1987’, Journal of Post Keynesian Economics 13(1), 79–110
Golden L., & Gebreselassie T. (2007). Which Workers Prefer to Exchange Income for a Change in Work Hours in the US? Monthly Labor Review, 130(4), 18–37
Golden L., & Wiens-Tuers B. (2005). Mandatory Overtime Work: Who, What and Where? Labor Studies Journal, 30(1), 1–23
Greenwood, J. and G. Vandenbroucke: 2005, ‹Hours Worked: Long-Run Trends’, in L. Blume and S. Durlauf (eds.), New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics, 2nd Edition (Palgrave Macmillan, London)
Hagen, K.: 2005, Working Time and International Competitiveness. Friedberg Ebert Siftung Briefing Paper, Geneva, April
Haight A. D. (1997). Padded Prowess: A Veblenian Interpretation of the Long Hours of Salaried Workers. Journal of Economic Issues, 31, 29–38
Hamermesh, D. and J. Slemrod: 2005, The Economics of Workaholism: Why we Should not have Written this Paper. National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper 11566
Hart R. (2004). The Economics of Overtime Working. Cambridge UK: Cambridge University Press
Hecker, D.: 1998, ‹How Hours of Work Affect Occupational Earnings’, Monthly Labor Review 121, 8–18
Hetrick, R.: 2000, ‹Analyzing the Upward Surge in Overtime Hours’, Monthly Labor Review 123, 30–33
Hewlett S. A. and C. B. Luce: 2006, ‹Extreme Jobs: The Dangerous Allure of the 70-Hour Workweek’, Harvard Business Review 84, 49–59
Hochschild A. (2005). On the Edge of the Time Bind: Time and Market Culture. Social Research, 72(2), 339–354
Hopkins E. (1982). Working Hours and Conditions During the Industrial Revolution: A Re-Appraisal. Economic History Review, 35, 52–66
Horrell, S. and J. Rubery: 1991, ‹Gender and Working Time’, Cambridge Journal of Economics 15, 373–391
Huberman M., & Minns C. (2007). The Times they are not Changin’: Days and Hours of Work in Old and New Worlds, 1870–2000. Explorations in Economic History, 44(4), 538–567
Hübler O. (2000). All Goes Faster but Lasts Longer: Computer Use and Overtime Work. Ifo Studien, 46(2), 49–271
Hunnicutt B. (1988). Work Without End: Abandoning Shorter Hours for the Right to Work. Philadelphia: Temple University Press
Hyytinen A., & Ruuskanen O.-P. (2007). Time Use of the Self-Employed. Kyklos, 60(1), 105–123
Jacobs J., & Gerson K. (2004). The Time Divide: Work, Family, And Gender Inequality. Family and Public Policy Series. Cambridge and London: Harvard University Press
Juster, T. and F. Stafford: 1985, ‹Process Benefits and The␣Problem of Joint Production’, in T. Juster and F. Stafford (eds.), Time, Goods and Well-Being (ISR, Ann Arbor, Michigan)
Kawase Y., Horiea S., Sasakia N., Naganoa C., Tsutsuia T., & Hoshuyamaa T. (2006). Solutions to Long Overtime Work Advised by Occupational Physician. International Congress Series, 294, 105–108
Kelloway, K., D. Gallagher and J. Barling: 2004, ‹Work, Employment and the Individual’, in B. Kaufman (ed.), Theoretical Perspectives on Work and the Employment Relationship (Industrial Relations Research Association Series, Urbana, IL)
Kemeny, A.: 2002, ‹Driven to Excel: A Portrait of Canada’s Workaholics, Canadian Social Trends’, Spring Statistics Canada, Catalogue No. 11-008
Kuhn, P. and F. Lozano: 2006, The Expanding Workweek? Understanding Trends in Long Work Hours among U.S. Men, 1979–2004. IZA Discussion Paper No. 1924, Berlin
Landers R., Rebitzer J., & Taylor L. (1996). Rat Race Redux: Adverse Selection in the Determination of Work Hours in Law Firms. American Economic Review, 86, 3229–3248
Lang, K. and S. Kahn: 2001, ‹Hours Constraints: Theory Evidence and Policy Implications’, in G. Wong and G. Picot (eds.), Working Time in a Comparative Perspective, Vol. 1 (Upjohn Institute for Employment Research Institute, Kalamazoo MI)
Layard R. (2006). Happiness and Public Policy: A Challenge to the Profession. The Economic Journal, 116(510), C24–C33
Leete, L. and J. Schor: 1994, ‹Assessing the Time Squeeze Hypothesis Hours Worked in the United States: 1969–89’, Industrial Relations 33(1), 25–43
Martorana P., & Hirsch P. (2001). The Social Construction of “Overtime”. Transformation of Work, 10, 165–187
McGratten, E. and R. Rogerson: 2004, ‹Changes in Hours Worked, 1950–2000’, Federal Bank of Minneapolis Quarterly Review 28, 14–33
McMillan, L. H. and M. P. O’Driscoll: 2006, ‹Understanding Workaholism: The Case for Behavioral Tendencies’, in R. Burke (ed.), Research Companion to Working Time and Work Addiction (Edward Elgar)
Messenger J. (2004). Working Time and Workers’ Preferences in Industrialized Countries: Finding the Balance. Geneva: ILO Conditions of Work and Employment Programme
Michelacci, C. and J. Pijoan-Mas: 2007, The Effects of Labor Market Conditions on Working Time: The US-EU Experience. CEMFI Working Paper 0705, June
Neumark, D. and A. Postlewaite: 1998, ‹Relative Income Concerns and the Rise in Married Women’s Employment’, Journal of Public Economics 70, 157–183
Nyland C. (1991). Reduced Working Time and the Management of Production. Cambridge UK: Cambridge University Press
Peiperl M., & Jones, B. (2001). Workaholics and Overworkers: Productivity or Pathology? Group & Organization Management, 26(3), 369–394
Philp B., Slater G., & Harvie D. (2005). Preferences, Power, and the Determination of Working Hours. Journal of Economic Issues, 39(1), 75–91
Porter, G.: 2005, Workaholism Sloan Work and Family Encyclopedia Entry, Sloan Work and Family Research Network. Retrieved from http://wfnetwork.bc.edu/encyclopedia_entry.php?id=1191
Rakoff T. (2002). A Time for Every Purpose Law and the Balance of Life. Cambridge MA: Harvard University Press
Ramey, V. A. and N. Francis: 2006, A Century of Work and Leisure. NBER Working Papers 12264, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc
Rebitzer J., & Taylor, L. (1995). Do Labor Markets Provide Enough Short-Hour Jobs? An Analysis of Work Hours and Work Incentives. Economic Inquiry, 33, 257–273
Reynolds J. (2004). When too much is not Enough Actual and Preferred Work Hours in the United States and Abroad. Sociological Forum, 19(1), 89–120
Roche W. K. (1987). Leisure, Insecurity and Union Policy in Britain: A Critical Extension of Bienefeld’s Theory of Hours Rounds. British Journal of Industrial Relations, 25(1), 1–17
Roediger, D. and P. Foner: 1989, Our Own Time: A History of American Labor and the Working Day (Verso, London)
Rones P., Ilg R., & Gardner J. (1997). Trends in Hours of Work Since the Mid 1970s. Monthly Labor Review, 120(4), 3–14
Rothschild K. (1982). A Note on Some of Economic and Welfare Aspects of Working Time Regulations. Australian Economic Papers, 21, 214–218
Rubery J., Ward K., Grimshaw D., & Beynon H. (2005). Working Time, Industrial Relations and the Employment Relationship. Time & Society, 14, 89–111
Rupert, P. and K. Roberts: 1995, `The Myth of the Overworked American', Economic Commentary (Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland) (January 15), 1–4
Schor J. B. (1992). The Overworked American. New York: Basic Books
Schor J. (1999). The Overspent American: Upscaling Downshifting and the New Consumer. New York: Basic Books
Scott K., Moore S., & Miceli M. (1997). An Exploration of the Meaning and Consequences of Workaholism. Human Relations, 50, 287–314
Snir R., Harpaz I., & Burke R. (2006). Workaholism in Organizations New Research Directions. Career Development International, 11(5), 369–373
Sousa-Poza, A. and A. Ziegler: 2003, `Asymmetric Information About Workers' Productivity as a Cause for Inefficient Long Working Hours', Labour Economics 10(6) December, 727–747
Stier H., & Lewin-Epstein N. (2003). Time to Work: A Comparative Analysis of Preferences for Working Hours. Work and Occupations, 30(3), 302
Taskin L., & Devos V. (2005). Paradoxes from the Individualization of Human Resource Management: The Case of Telework. Journal of Business Ethics, 62(1), 13–24
Thompson E. (1967). Time, Work-Discipline and Industrial Capitalism. Past and Present, 38, 56–97
Ueberfeldt, A.: 2006, Working Time over the 20th Century. Bank of Canada Working Paper 2006-18, May
Whaples, R.: 2001, Hours of Work in U.S. History. EH.Net Encyclopedia, August 15
Wiesing U. (2007). Ethical Asepcts of Limiting Residents’ Work Hours. Journal of Busines Ethics, 21(7), 398–405
Wolfe A. (1997). The Moral Meaning of Work. Journal of Socio-Economics, 26(6), 559–570
Yakura E. (2001). Billables: The Valorization of Time in Consulting. American Behavioral Scientist, 44(7), 1076–1096
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Golden, L. A Brief History of Long Work Time and the Contemporary Sources of Overwork. J Bus Ethics 84 (Suppl 2), 217–227 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-008-9698-z
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-008-9698-z