Actual Work Hours Research Articles

근로시간 제도의 유연화를 위한 과제

The ”work hours” are the key terms and conditions of employment in the labor contract (Labor Standards Act Article 17-1(2)), and they are closely related to the “wages” paid to the worker as remuneration for work. The main task of the Labor Act is to regulate the work hours to protect the health rights of workers and guarantee the work-life balance of the workers. The history of Labor Act is also called the history of shortening the work hours. This is because the work hours are the key regulatory matters in the Labor Act. It is also a crucial task to regulate the work hours to guarantee the health rights and living rights of the workers.
 The Korean work hour system is mainly based on the Labor Standards Act. Since the enactment of the Labor Standards Act in 1953, the discussions and changes regarding the work hour system have been focusing on reduction of the legal work hours and standard work hours to secure the recess rights or health rights of the workers. For example, the initial work hours of Korea reduced from eight hours a day and 48 hours a week (Labor Standards Act enacted on May 10, 1953) to eight hours a day and 44 hours a week in 1989 (Labor Standards Act amended on March 29, 1989). Since 2003, the work hours have been reduced to eight hours a day and 40 hours a week (Labor Standards Act amended on September 15, 2003) until now. Provided, the work hour system under the current Labor Standards Act mainly regulates the actual work hours and fails to consider the living time of the workers.
 The work-life balance has been recently spotlighted, and there is a growing demand for flexible work hours. In fact, flexible work hour is a key issue in many workers for work-life balance, and flexible work hour is considered as a main mean to improve the work-life balance.
 The guarantee of time needed for family life and social life may vary depending on the individual circumstances of each work. In order to improve the work hour system, it is necessary to secure the right to decide the allocation and placement of the work hours in consideration of the individual worker demands based on the labor-management agreements.
 In reformation of the work hours, the total amount of work hour should be continuously reduced and regulated while guaranteeing flexibility in operation of the work hour within the total amount. The current laws and systems also need to be reviewed again based on these perspectives. Furthermore, individual and fragmentary improvement of the work hour system cause inefficiency and lack of practicality in system operation. Thus, it is necessary to redesign the realistic and future-oriented work hour regulation framework.

Presenteeism Is Reloaded and Ready for Further Research – A Commentary on Priebe, J. and Hägerbäumer, M. (2023)

Presenteeism Is Reloaded and Ready for Further Research – A Commentary on Priebe, J. and Hägerbäumer, M. (2023)

Working-Time Mismatch and Mental Health

Nationally representative panel survey data for Germany and Australia are used to investigate the impact of working-time mismatches (i.e., differences between actual and desired work hours) on mental health, as measured by the Mental Component Summary Score from the SF-12. Fixed effects and dynamic linear models are estimated, which, together with the longitudinal nature of the data, enable person-specific traits that are time invariant to be controlled for. The incorporation of dynamics also reduces concerns about the potential effects of reverse causation. The results suggest that overemployment (working more hours than desired) has adverse consequences for the mental health of workers in both countries. Underemployment (working fewer hours than desired), however, seems to only be of significance in Australia.

Health workforce needs of small medical specialties: findings from rheumatology in Germany

Abstract Background Small medical specialties may be more vulnerable to workforce shortage and the COVID-19 pandemic and this may directly impact in the provision of care for chronically-ill patients. This study aims to explore health workforce development and new needs, using rheumatology in Germany as a case study. Methods An explorative multi-methods approach was applied, combining health labour market assessment of rheumatology physicians (public statistics 2000-2019) and a questionnaire-based online survey conducted in early 2021 (n = 101 respondents; rheumatology physicians and residents). Main selected topics: work hours, workload, mental health issues, discrimination and sexual harassment experiences, impact of COVID-19. Descriptive statistical analysis was performed and qualitative content analysis for free-text information. Results Health labour market analysis showed that the numbers of rheumatologists increased markedly between 2000 and 2019 in the groups aged +50 years, but only 9% in younger groups under 50 years; since 2010 the group 40-50 years showed decreases. In 2019, the absolute number of rheumatologists working in healthcare after retirement-age exceeded those aged 40 and under. Survey data revealed a strong mismatch between actual and desired work hours for women and men. 81% rated their workload as high or very high; every sixth rheumatologist has suffered from stress or burnout syndromes at least once in the past. Experiences of gender discrimination and sexual harassment/violence were frequently reported, mostly by women. COVID-19 was an amplifier of stress with major stressors being digitalisation and increased demand for communication and patient education. Conclusions Decreasing health workforce capacities in German rheumatology combine with negative perceptions of work and workplace conditions, threatening both retention and service delivery. Key messages • Small medical specialties, like rheumatology, face severe shortage that threaten healthcare for chronically-ill patients and need greater attention. • COVID-19 has reinforced rheumatologists’ workload and stressors, thus worsing mental health and retention.

Nurses’ steps, distance traveled, and perceived physical demands in a three-shift schedule

BackgroundThe physical job demands of hospital nurses are known to be very high. Although many studies have measured the physical activities of nurses subjectively using questionnaires, it remains necessary to quantify and measure nurses’ physical activity at work using objective indicators. This study was conducted to address this gap in the literature by analyzing nurses’ physical activity using both objective measurements and subjective perceptions. The number of steps, distance traveled, and actual work hours were measured during work, and the influence of related factors was analyzed.MethodsUsing a cross-sectional design, survey and activity tracking data were collected from nurses who worked in three shifts in two tertiary hospitals located in the capital region of South Korea. The participants comprised 117 nurses working in four different units (medical ward, surgical ward, intensive care unit, emergency room), and data from 351 shifts were used in the final analysis. Between-group differences in the main variables were analyzed using the t-test, the Mann–Whitney test, analysis of variance, or the Kruskal–Wallis test, as appropriate. The relationships were examined through multiple linear regression analysis.ResultsThe average number of steps and distance traveled were greatest for nurses working in the emergency room, followed by the intensive care unit, surgical ward, and medical ward (in descending order). Younger nurses and those with shorter unit experience tended to have the greatest number of steps and distance traveled.ConclusionUsing activity trackers, this study derived physical activity measures such as number of steps and distance traveled, enabling an objective examination of physical activity during shifts. Nurses’ level of physical activity differed depending on the type of nursing unit, nurses’ age, and unit experience. These results suggest the need for support programs that are specific to the job demands of specific nursing units.

Predictors of Satisfaction With Work Environment in the Context of a Mismatch in Working Hours: A Nationwide, Large-Scale, Cross-Sectional Study.

This nationwide, large-scale, cross-sectional study has hypothesized that there might be differences in workers’ satisfaction with work environment depending on demographic, socio-economic, and work characteristics in the context of a mismatch between actual and preferred working hours. The current study is a secondary data analysis of the Fifth Korean Working Conditions Survey. A total of 29 694 subjects (n = 29 694) were finally included in the current study. Female gender (β = −.372, OR 0.689 [95% CI 0.646-0.736]), age of ≥60 years old (β = .226, OR 1.253 [95% CI 1.089-1.441]), graduation from middle school (β = −.320, OR 0.726 [95% CI 0.616-0.856]), college (β = .492, OR 1.636 [95% CI 1.371-1.952]), or university (β = .826, OR 2.283 [95% CI 1.918-2.718]), fixed period of work (β = −.105, OR 0.901 [95% CI 0.823-0.986]), full-time employment (β = −.105, OR 0.900 [95% CI 0.813-0.996]), the engagement in public sector (β = .544, OR 1.722 [95% CI 1.532-1.935]), private-public partnership organization (β = .605, OR 1.832 [95% CI 1.342-2.500]) or NPO or NGO (β = .780, OR 2.182 [95% CI 1.522-3.127]), regular side job (β = −.929, OR 0.395 [95% CI 0.289-0.539]), or temporary side job (β = −.330, OR 0.719 [95% CI 0.533-0.970]), membership of multiple teams (β = −.501, OR 0.606 [95% CI 0.552-0.666]), labor union (β = .143, OR 1.154 [95% CI 1.047-1.273]), and better health status (β = .977, OR 2.657 [95% CI 1.175-6.007]) were predictors of satisfaction with work environment in the context of a mismatch between actual and desired working hours. Based on the current results, it can be concluded that female gender, age of ≥60 years old, graduation from middle school, college, or university, fixed period of work, full-time employment, the engagement in public sector, private-public partnership organization or NPO or NGO, regular side job or temporary side job, membership of multiple teams, labor union, and better health status were predictors of satisfaction with work environment.

For better or worse: How more flexibility in working time arrangements and parental leave experiences affect fathers' working and childcare hours in Germany

Objective: In this study, we investigate the effect of flexible working time arrangements and parental leave experiences on the actual working and childcare hours of men.
 Background: Many fathers want to spend more time with their children and actively participate in family life, but, after becoming a parent, most work even more hours than before. To better combine work and family, the possibility of flexible working time arrangements might play a crucial role for fathers, also to become more involved in childcare activities.
 Method: We use longitudinal data of the German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP) to examine how flexible working time arrangements, parental leave experiences, working hours, and childcare hours are related. Based on data between 2013 and 2019, panel regression models were estimated.
 Results: The results show that a change from fixed to flexible working time regulations leads to an increase in working hours for men and fathers. The longer working hours of fathers go hand in hand with a reduction in the time spent on childcare activities when switching to flexible working time arrangements. However, experiences with parental leave in connection with flexible working hours show a change in the use of time.
 Conclusion: Flexible working time regulations prove to be ambivalent for fathers: On the one hand, they offer fathers new leeway, on the other hand, due to traditional role models, they lead to longer working hours and thus less participation in childcare; but parental leave experiences make a difference, which indicates the importance of these regulations for fathers.

When parents wish to reduce their work hours: Does sorting into occupations and work organizations explain gender differences in working-time adjustments?

Objective: This study investigates whether sorting into occupations and work organizations contributes to gender differences in parents’ likelihood to reduce their working hours.
 Background: While mothers reduce their work hours to reconcile their work and personal lives, fathers increasingly wish to reduce their hours but face obstacles to doing so. Mismatches between parents' desired and actual work hours prompt the question of whether fathers' realization of working-time reductions is constrained due to their sorting into more time-intensive occupations and/or work organizations.
 Method: Cross-classified multilevel models were applied to German linked employer-employee data analyzing gender differences in parents' likelihood of reducing work hours. Including sorting indicators, the question of whether differences in full-time employed mothers' and fathers' working-time reductions were driven by sorting into different work contexts (occupations/work organizations) was explored.
 Results: The results confirmed that full-time employed mothers are more likely to reduce their work hours than full-time employed fathers. While occupations play almost no role in determining working-time adjustments, work context does at least partly contribute to parents’ variation in working-time reductions. However, neither gendered sorting into occupations nor gendered sorting into work organizations explained gender differences in parents’ likelihood of scaling back their work hours.
 Conclusion: It is concluded that gender differences in German parents' reduction of working hours rather respond to traditional gender norms than being influenced by the different occupations or work organizations mothers and fathers sort themselves into.

Work situation of rheumatologists and residents in times of COVID-19 : Findings from asurvey in Germany.

Background and objectiveThe work situation is an important dimension of professional life and wellbeing, and a policy lever to strengthen recruitment and retention. This study aims to explore the work situation of physicians and residents in internal medical rheumatology, considering the impact of the coronavirus pandemic COVID-19.MethodsA questionnaire-based online survey was conducted in early 2021 at the Hannover Medical School, supported by the German Society of Rheumatology. Target groups were all rheumatology physicians and residents in Germany. The main areas of investigation included work hours, task delegation, and collaboration; workload and mental health issues; discrimination and sexual harassment experiences; and the impact of COVID-19. Descriptive statistical analysis was performed for the standardized items and qualitative content analysis for the free-text information.ResultsThe respondents (n = 101) expressed positive attitudes towards cooperation and task delegation to medical assistants, especially those specialized in rheumatology, while attitudes towards cooperation with GPs pointed to blockades. There was a strong mismatch between actual and desired work hours both in the group of women and in the group of men. 81% rated their workload as high or very high; every sixth rheumatologist has suffered from stress or burnout syndromes at least once in the past. Experiences of gender discrimination and sexual harassment/violence were frequently reported, mostly by women. COVID-19 was an amplifier of stress, with major stressors being digitalization and increased demand for communication and patient education.ConclusionThere is an urgent need to improve the work situation of rheumatologists and reduce stress and mental health risks.Supplementary InformationThe online version of this article (10.1007/s00393-021-01081-5) includes the survey questionnaire in German.

Nurses reports of actual work hours and preferred work hours per shift among frontline nurses during coronavirusdisease 2019 (COVID-19) epidemic: A cross-sectional survey.

BackgroundThe Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic is an ongoing pandemic all over the world, leading to 126, 372, 442 people diagnosed and 2, 769, 696 deaths globally as of March 28, 2021. Nurses are providing care to patients with COVID-19 who require hospitalization. To ensure adequate response capacity and to maintain the health of nurses, it is important to analyse the actual work hours and the nurses reported preferred work hours per shift among frontline nurses.ObjectiveTo analyse the actual work hours and preferred work hours per shift of nurses reports among frontline nurses fighting the COVID-19 epidemic and to explore the influencing factors on the nurses reported preferred work hours.DesignCross-sectional surveySetting(s)This study was conducted in 10 designated hospitals providing treatments to patients with COVID-19 in China.ParticipantsNurses providing care to patients with COVID-19 in designated hospitals in China.MethodsA questionnaire with open-ended questions was used to assess frontline nurses caring for COVID-19 cases in 10 designated hospitals. Quantitative and qualitative methods were used to analyse the actual work hours, the nurses reported preferred work hours and factors influencing nurses reported preferred work hours among the frontline nurses.ResultsA total of 109 nurses responded to the survey. The shift length exceeded the nurses’ preferred work hours [Median (interquartile range): 5.00 (2.00) h vs 4.00 (2.00) h; Minimum-Maximum: 4–12 h vs 4–8 h], and 60.55% (66/109) of the nurses regarded 4 h as the preferred number of work hours per shift. Five key themes associated with the influencing factors emerged, including circumstances; personal preventable equipment; the nurses’ physical and emotional needs of nurse; and the nurses’ safety needs and work intensity.ConclusionsThese findings suggest that there is a gap between the actual work hours and the nurses preferred work hours among frontline nurses in different units and different posts. The main influencing factors were circumstances, personal protective equipment, the nurses’ physical and emotional needs, and the nurses’ safety needs and work intensity.

The Shadow Margins of Labor Market Slack

AbstractWe use a mix of new and existing data to develop the Aggregate Hours Gap (AHG), a novel measure of labor market underutilization. Our measure differentiates individuals by detailed categories of labor market participation and uses data on their desired work hours as a measure of their potential labor supply. We show that desired hours vary widely by demographics and detailed labor force status, and that the gap between desired and actual work hours is strongly positively correlated with reported search effort. The AHG suggests a more sluggish labor market recovery since the Great Recession than either the official unemployment rate or alternative measures of labor market underutilization. Modest amounts of underutilization among the part‐time employed and a substantial degree of underutilization among those out of the labor force account for the disparity. The AHG also does well in accounting for wage movements over our sample period.

Is Work Hour Mismatch Associated with Depression?

BackgroundMany studies have reported noticeable increases in the proportion of employees working either relatively short or relatively long hours. Such trends have been accompanied by an increasing concern regarding work hour mismatches defined as a discrepancy between actual and preferred work hours. The aim of this study was to investigate association between work hour mismatch and depression.MethodsData regarding work hour mismatches for 47,551 adults were extracted from the 2017 Korean Working Conditions Survey. The World Health Organization-Five Well-Being Index was used to measure depression. Multiple logistic regression analyses were performed to examine the association between work hour mismatch and depression.ResultsMen and women workers with work hour mismatch were more likely to have depression [underemployed males: odds ratio (OR) = 1.30, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.14–1.49, overemployed males: OR = 1.28, 95% CI = 1.18–1.40; underemployed females: OR = 1.37, 95% CI = 1.20–1.56, overemployed females: OR = 1.12, 95% CI = 1.02–1.23]. Underemployed workers, workers who worked more than 52 hours per week, and workers with a high income level, all had higher ORs for depression. The greater the discrepancy between actual and preferred work hours, the higher OR for depression among both underemployed and overemployed workers.ConclusionsA difference between actual and preferred work hours was associated with depression. Underemployed workers had a higher risk of depression than that of overemployed workers. As a work hour mismatch negatively affected workers' mental health, it is important to reduce work hours mismatches as well as shorten the absolute number of work hours.

WITHDRAWN: Nurses reports of actual work hours and preferred work hours per shift among frontline nurses during coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) epidemic: A cross-sectional survey

This article has been withdrawn at the request of the editor. The Publisher apologizes for any inconvenience this may cause. The full Elsevier Policy on Article Withdrawal can be found at https://www.elsevier.com/about/our-business/policies/article-withdrawal.

Working hour mismatch, job quality, and mental well-being across the EU28: a multilevel approach.

We aim to estimate the association between working hour mismatches and mental well-being. We also investigate the confounding and moderating role of job quality in this association. We use cross-sectional data from the European Working Conditions Survey of 2015 in the analysis. The sample includes 9345 male and 10,998 female employees in 28 countries. We run a multilevel linear regression accounting for the clustering of countries with mental well-being assessed by the World Health Organization Index. We compute mismatches in working hours as the difference between desired and actual hours of work, categorized as underemployed, unconstrained, and overemployed. The main dependent variable is the combination of these mismatches for each of the following working schedules: ≤ 20; 21-34; 35-40; 41-47; and ≥ 48h/week (h/w). The adverse association of short and long hours with well-being is mostly attributable to mismatches in working hours (except for men in the 41-47h/w group). Once we adjust for job quality, overemployed men ≥ 48h/w experience a reduction in mental well-being of - 5.2 (95 CI% - 7.04 to - 3.76) with respect to the unconstrained base category 35-40h/w. Overemployed women experience a reduction in mental well-being ranging from - 4.94 (95 CI% - 6.54 to - 3.34) in the ≥ 48h/w schedule to - 11.11 (95 CI% - 17.35 to - 4.87) in the ≤ 20h/w schedule. We observe a confounding role of job quality across most working hour schedules, but the interaction effects are modest. Employee control over working hours is associated with mental well-being with differences by gender. Labour policies aimed at promoting flexibility on the employee side could be favoured to improve workers' mental well-being.

Prevalence of allergic rhinitis among healthcare workers and its impact on their work: a cross-sectional survey at a tertiary healthcare centre in Pakistan.

A study was conducted to determine the frequency of allergic rhinitis among healthcare professionals and its impact on their work at the Aga Khan University Hospital Karachi Pakistan. Healthcare workers including doctors, nurses, technicians and pharmacists were included. Participants were asked to fill a questionnaire consisting of score for allergic rhinitis (SFAR), and work productivity and activity impairment questionnaires. Out of 167 workers, 101 were males. Mean age of the participants was 29.0 ± 5.9 years. Overall prevalence of allergic rhinitis among healthcare workers was found to be frequency (19.2%). We noted that 13 individuals reported to have missed their work in the past week accounting to 4.3% of their work. When calculated with the actual work hours 35.9% of their work was reported to have been impaired due to this condition.

The Shadow Margins of Labor Market Slack

We use a mix of new and existing data to develop the Aggregate Hours Gap (AHG), a novel measure of labor market underutilization. Our measure differentiates individuals by detailed categories of labor market participation and uses data on their desired work hours as a measure of their potential labor supply. We show that desired hours vary widely by demographics and detailed labor force status, and that the gap between desired and actual work hours is strongly positively correlated with reported search effort. The Aggregate Hours Gap suggests a more sluggish labor market recovery since the Great Recession than either the official unemployment rate or alternative measures of labor market underutilization. Modest amounts of underutilization among the part-time employed and a substantial degree of underutilization among those out of the labor force account for the disparity. The Aggregate Hours Gap also does well in accounting for wage movements over our sample period.

Mediation analysis for new recognition criteria, working hours and overwork-related disease: a nationwide ecological study using 11-year follow-up data in Taiwan

ObjectivesTaiwan revised its criteria for overwork-related cerebrovascular and cardiovascular disease (CCVD) in 2010. A new definition of overwork increased the number of recognised cases. Meanwhile, actual average working hours decreased....

Universal Childcare for the Youngest and the Maternal Labour Supply

In this paper, we investigate whether the expansion of childcare leads to an increase in the female labour supply. We measure female labour supply at both the extensive and intensive margin. For identification, we exploit a nationwide reform that expanded childcare for 1–2- year-olds in Norway. Our results reveal a significant increase in the overall employment of mothers in the target group, but only weak evidence of an increase in contracted hours of work. However, both adjustments are only short term following the reform. When we consider subgroups of mothers more closely, we find substantial heterogeneity in the affected outcomes and the timing of these effects. In particular, when we exclude mothers on job-protected maternity leave and with currently zero hours of work from the target group, we estimate even larger effects on employment and now significant effects on actual hours of work. For mothers with more than one child, we find significant long-term effects of the reform on both employment and hours of work.

Labor Productivity During the Great Depression in UK Manufacturing

This paper provides estimates of labor productivity for one-third of UK manufacturing during the Great Depression. It covers engineering and allied industries, and metal working industries. A unique data set of actual hours of work is combined with comparable real output and employment statistics. It establishes that output per worker-hour was countercyclical in the 1929-1932 peak-to-trough years of the Depression. This result has also been found for US manufacturing over the same period. Working time is found to play a crucial role the UK productivity response. Countercyclical productivity is discussed in terms of (i) the strong final output and consumer price deflations of 1929 to 1934, (ii) an absence of significant labor hoarding, and (c) diminishing returns to long weekly hours of work.

Universal Childcare for the Youngest and the Maternal Labour Supply

In this paper, we investigate whether the expansion of childcare leads to an increase in the female labour supply. We measure female labour supply at both the extensive and intensive margin. For identification, we exploit a nationwide reform that expanded childcare for 1–2- year-olds in Norway. Our results reveal a significant increase in the overall employment of mothers in the target group, but only weak evidence of an increase in contracted hours of work. However, both adjustments are only short term following the reform. When we consider sub-groups of mothers more closely, we find substantial heterogeneity in the affected outcomes and the timing of these effects. In particular, when we exclude mothers on job-protected maternity leave and with currently zero hours of work from the target group, we estimate even larger effects on employment and now significant effects on actual hours of work. For mothers with more than one child, we find significant long-term effects of the reform on both employment and hours of work.