Is work intensification bad for employees? A review of outcomes for employees over the last two decades

References

• Studies included in the review marked *
   Google Scholar
• Autor, D. H. (2015). Why are there still so many jobs? The history and future of workplace automation. Journal of Economic Perspectives, 29(3), 3–30. https://doi.org/10.1257/jep.29.3.3
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Bakker, A. B., & Demerouti, E. (2007). The job demands-resources model: State of the art. Journal of Managerial Psychology, 22(3), 309–328. https://doi.org/10.1108/02683940710733115
   Google Scholar
• *Bamberger, S. G., Larsen, A., Vinding, A. L., Nielsen, P., Fonager, K., Nielsen, R. N., Ryom, P., & Omland, Ø. (2015). Assessment of work intensification by managers and psychological distressed and non-distressed employees: A multilevel comparison. Industrial Health, 53(4), 322–331. https://doi.org/10.2486/indhealth.2014-0176
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• *Beck, J. L. (2017). The weight of a heavy hour: Understanding teacher experiences of work intensification. McGill Journal of Education, 52(3), 563–807. https://doi.org/10.7202/1050906ar
   Google Scholar
• *Bergman, A., & Gillberg, G. (2015). The cabin crew blues. Middle-aged cabin attendants and their working conditions. Nordic Journal of Working Life Studies, 5(4), 23–39. https://doi.org/10.19154/njwls.v5i4.4842
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Borenstein, M., Hedges, L. V., Higgins, J. P., & Rothstein, H. R. (2009). When does it make sense to perform a meta-analysis? In M. Borenstein, L. V. Hedges, J. P. Higgins, & H. R. Rothstein (Eds.), Introduction to meta-analysis (pp. 357–364). John Wiley & Sons. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/book/10.1002/9780470743386
   Google Scholar
• *Borle, P., Boerner-Zobel, F., Voelter-Mahlknecht, S., Hasselhorn, H. M., & Ebener, M. (2021). The social and health implications of digital work intensification. Associations between exposure to information and communication technologies, health and work ability in different socio-economic strata. International Archives of Occupational and Environmental Health, 94(3), 377–390. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00420-020-01588-5
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Bowling, N. A., Alarcon, G. M., Bragg, C. B., & Hartman, M. J. (2015). A meta-analytic examination of the potential correlates and consequences of workload. Work & Stress, 29(2), 95–113. https://doi.org/10.1080/02678373.2015.1033037
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Bowling, N. A., & Kirkendall, C. (2012). Workload: A review of potential causes, consequences and interventions. In J. Houdmont, S. Leka, & R. Sinclair (Eds.), Contemporary occupational health psychology: Global Perspectives on research and practice (Vol. 2, pp. 221–238). John Wiley & Sons. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781119942849.ch13.
   Google Scholar
• *Boxall, P., & Macky, K. (2014). High-involvement work processes, work intensification and employee well-being. Work, Employment, and Society, 28(6), 963–984. https://doi.org/10.1177/0950017013512714
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Boxall, P., & Purchell, J. (2011). Strategy and human resource management (3rd ed.). Palgrave Macmillan.
   Google Scholar
• *Brown, M. (2012). Responses to work intensification: Does generation matter? International Journal of Human Resource Management, 23(17), 3578–3595. https://doi.org/10.1080/09585192.2011.654348
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• *Bunner, J., Prem, R., & Korunka, C. (2018). How work intensification relates to organisation-level safety performance: The mediating roles of safety climate, safety motivation, and safety knowledge. Frontiers in Psychology, 9, 2575. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.02575
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• *Burke, R. J., Singh, P., & Fiksenbaum, L. (2010). Work intensity: Potential antecedents and consequences. Personnel Review, 39(3), 347–360. https://doi.org/10.1108/00483481011030539
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Cascio, W. F., & Montealegre, R. (2016). How technology is changing work and organizations? Annual Review of Organizational Psychology and Organizational Behavior, 3(1), 349–375. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-orgpsych-041015-062352
   Google Scholar
• *Chang, P.-C., Wu, T., & Liu, C.-L. (2018). Do high-performance work systems really satisfy employees? Evidence from China. Sustainability, 10(10), 3360. https://doi.org/10.3390/su10103360
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• *Chesley, N. (2014). Information and communication technology use, work intensification and employee strain and stress. Work, Employment and Society, 28(4), 589–610. https://doi.org/10.1177/0950017013500112
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• *Chillakuri, B., & Vanka, S. (2022). Understanding the effects of perceived organizational support and high-performance work systems on health harm through sustainable HRM lens: A moderated mediated examination. Employee Relations, 44(3), 629–649. https://doi.org/10.1108/ER-01-2019-0046
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• *Chowhan, J., Denton, M., Brookman, C., Davis, S., Sayin, F., & Zeytinoglu, I. (2019). Work intensification and health outcomes of health sector workers. Personnel Review, 48(2), 342–359. https://doi.org/10.1108/PR-10-2017-0287
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Crawford, E. R., LePine, J. A., & Rich, B. L. (2010). Linking job demands and resources to employee engagement and burnout: A theoretical extension and meta-analytic test. Journal of Applied Psychology, 95(5), 834–848. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0019364
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Daniels, K., Le Blanc, P., & Davis, M. (2014). The models that made job design. In M. Peeters, J. de Jonge, & T. W. Taris (Eds.), An introduction to contemporary work psychology (pp. 63–89). Wiley Blackwell.
   Google Scholar
• *Engelbrecht, G. J., de Beer, L. T., & Schaufeli, W. B. (2020). The relationships between work intensity, workaholism, burnout, and self-reported musculoskeletal complaints. Human Factors and Ergonomics in Manufacturing and Service Industries, 30(1), 59–70. https://doi.org/10.1002/hfm.20821
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• *Fiksenbaum, L., Jeng, W., Koyuncy, M., & Burke, R. J. (2010). Work hours, work intensity, satisfactions and psychological well-being among hotel managers in China. Cross Cultural Management: An International Journal, 17(1), 79–93. https://doi.org/10.1108/13527601011016925
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• *Franke, F. (2015). Is work intensification extra stress? Journal of Personnel Psychology, 14(1), 17–27. https://doi.org/10.1027/1866-5888/a000120
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Glaser, J., Seubert, C., Hornung, S., & Herbig, B. (2015). The impact of learning demands, work-related resources, and job stressors on creative performance and health. Journal of Personnel Psychology, 14(1), 37–48. https://doi.org/10.1027/1866-5888/a000127
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• *Granter, E., Wankhade, P., McCann, L., Hassard, J., & Hyde, P. (2019). Multiple dimensions of work intensity: Ambulance work as edgework. Work, Employment & Society, 33(2), 280–297. https://doi.org/10.1177/0950017018759207
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• *Green, F. (2001). It’s been a hard day’s night: The concentration and intensification of work in late twentieth-century Britain. British Journal of Industrial Relations, 39(1), 53–80. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8543.00189
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Green, F. (2004). Why has work effort become more intense? Industrial Relations, 43(4), 709–741. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.0019-8676.2004.00359.x
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Green, F., & McIntosh, S. (2001). The intensification of work in Europe. Labour Economics, 8(2), 291–308. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0927-5371(01)00027-6
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• *Harvey, C., Thompson, S., Otis, E., & Willis, E. (2020). Nurses’ views on workload, care rationing and work environments. Journal of Nursing Management, 28(4), 912–918. https://doi.org/10.1111/jonm.13019
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• *Henderson, J., Willis, E., Blackman, I., Toffoli, L., & Verrall, C. (2016). Causes of missed nursing care: Qualitative responses to a survey of Australian nurses. Labour & Industry: A Journal of the Social and Economic Relations of Work, 26(4), 281–297. https://doi.org/10.1080/10301763.2016.1257755
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• *Huo, M.-L., Boxall, P., & Cheung, G. W. (2022). Lean production, work intensification and employee wellbeing: Can line-manager support make a difference? Economic and Industrial Democracy, 43(1), 198–220. https://doi.org/10.1177/0143831X19890678
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Karasek, R., & Theorell, T. (1990). Health work: Stress, productivity, and the reconstruction of working life. Basic Books.
   Google Scholar
• *Kelliher, C., & Anderson, D. (2010). Doing more with less? Flexible working practices and the intensification of work. Human Relations, 63(1), 83–106. https://doi.org/10.1177/0018726709349199
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• *Korunka, C., Kubicek, B., Paškvan, M., & Ulferts, H. (2015). Changes in work intensification and intensified learning: Challenge or hindrance demands? Journal of Managerial Psychology, 30(7), 786–800. https://doi.org/10.1108/JMP-02-2013-0065
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• *Krause, N., Scherzer, T., & Rugulies, R. (2005). Physical workload, work intensification, and prevalence of pain in low wage workers: Results from a participatory research project with hotel room cleaners in Las Vegas. American Journal of Industrial Medicine, 48(5), 326–337. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajim.20221
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• *Kubicek, B., Paškvan, M., & Korunka, C. (2015). Development and validation of an instrument for assessing job demands arising from accelerated change: The intensification of Job Demands Scale (IDS). European Journal of Work and Organisational Psychology, 24(6), 898–913. https://doi.org/10.1080/1359432X.2014.979160
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• *Kubicek, B., & Tement, S. (2016). Work intensification and the work-home interface. The moderating effect of individual work-home segmentation strategies and organisational segmentation supplies. Journal of Personnel Psychology, 15(2), 76–89. https://doi.org/10.1027/1866-5888/a000158
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• *Lawrence, D. F., Loi, N. M., & Gudex, B. W. (2019). Understanding the relationship between work intensification and burnout in secondary teachers. Teachers and Teaching, 25(2), 189–199. https://doi.org/10.1080/13540602.2018.1544551
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• *Le Fevre, M., Boxall, P., & Macky, K. (2015). Which workers are more vulnerable to work intensification? An analysis of two national surveys. International Journal of Manpower, 36(6), 966–983. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJM-01-2014-0035
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• LePine, J. A., Podsakoff, N. P., & LePine, M. A. (2005). A meta-analytic test of the challenge stressor-hindrance stressor framework: An explanation for inconsistent relationships among stressors and performance. Academy of Management Journal, 48(5), 764–775. https://doi.org/10.5465/AMJ.2005.18803921
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• *Li, Y., Xie, W., & Huo, L. (2020). How can work addiction buffer the influence of work intensification on workplace well-being? The mediating role of job crafting. International Journal of Environmental Research on Public Health, 17(13), 4658. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17134658
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• *Macky, K., & Boxall, P. (2008). High-involvement work processes, work intensification and employee well-being: A study of New Zealand worker experiences. Asia Pacific Journal of Human Resources, 46(1), 38–55. https://doi.org/10.1177/1038411107086542
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Mauno, S., & Kinnunen, U. (2021). The importance of recovery from work in intensified working life. In C. Korunka (Ed.), Flexible working practices and approaches: Psychological and social implications of a multifaceted phenomenon (pp. 59–79). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-74128-0_4
   Google Scholar
• *Mauno, S., Kubicek, B., Feldt, T., & Minkkinen, J. (2020). Intensified job demands and job performance: Does SOC strategy use make a difference? Industrial Health, 58(3), 224–237. https://doi.org/10.2486/indhealth.2019-0067
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Mauno, S., Kubicek, B., Minkkinen, J., & Korunka, C. (2019). Antecedents of intensified job demands: Evidence from Austria. Employee Relations, 41(4), 694–707. https://doi.org/10.1108/ER-04-2018-0094
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Mauno, S., & Minkkinen, J. (2020). Profiling a spectrum of mental job demands and their linkages to employee outcomes. Journal of Person-Oriented Research, 6(1), 56–72. https://doi.org/10.17505/jpor.2020.22046
   Google Scholar
• *Mauno, S., Minkkinen, J., Tsupari, H., Huhtala, M., & Feldt, T. (2019). Do older employees suffer more from work intensification and other intensified job demands? Evidence from upper white-collar workers. Scandinavian Journal of Work and Organisational Psychology, 4(1). https://doi.org/10.16993/sjwop.60
   Google Scholar
• Mazzola, J. J., & Disselhorst, R. (2019). Should we be “challenging” employees? A critical review and meta-analysis of the challenge-hindrance model of stress. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 40(8), 949–961. https://doi.org/10.1002/job.2412
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Meijman, T. F., & Mulder, G. (1998). Psychological aspects of workload. In P. J. D. Drenth, & H. Thierry (Eds.), Handbook of work and organisational psychology (Vol. 2, Work psychology, pp. 5–33). Psychology Press.
   Google Scholar
• Menon, S., Salvatori, A., & Zwysen, W. (2020). The effect of computer use on work discretion and work intensity: Evidence from Europe. British Journal of Industrial Relations, 58(4), 1004–1038. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjir.12504
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• *Neirotti, P. (2020). Work intensification and employee involvement in lean production: New light on a classic dilemma. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 31(15), 1958–1983. https://doi.org/10.1080/09585192.2018.1424016
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• *Ogbonna, E., & Harris, L. C. (2004). Work intensification and emotional labour among UK university lecturers: An exploratory study. Organisation Studies, 25(7), 1185–1203. https://doi.org/10.1177/0170840604046315
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• *Ogbonnaya, C., Daniels, K., Connolly, S., & van Veldhoven, M. (2017). Integrated and isolated impact of high-performance work practices on employee health and well-being: A comparative study. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 22(1), 98–114. https://doi.org/10.1037/ocp0000027
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• *Ogbonnaya, C., Daniels, K., & Nielsen, K. (2017). Does contingent pay encourage positive employee attitudes and intensify work? Human Resource Management Journal, 27(1), 94–112. https://doi.org/10.1111/1748-8583.12130
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• *Ogbonnaya, C. N., & Valizade, D. (2015). Participatory workplace activities, employee-level outcomes and the mediating role of work intensification. Management Research Review, 38(5), 540–558. https://doi.org/10.1108/MRR-01-2014-0007
   Google Scholar
• Oppenauer, V., & Van De Voorde, K. (2018). Exploring the relationships between high involvement work system practices, work demands, and emotional exhaustion: A multilevel study. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 29(2), 311–337. https://doi.org/10.1080/09585192.2016.1146321
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• *Paškvan, M., Kubicek, B., Prem, R., & Korunka, C. (2016). Cognitive appraisal of work intensification. International Journal of Stress Management, 23(2), 124–146. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0039689
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Pongratz, H. J., & Voss, G. G. (2003). From employee to ‘entreployee’: Towards a ‘self-entrepreneurial’ work force? Concepts and Transformation, 8(3), 239–254. https://doi.org/10.1075/cat.8.3.04pon
   Google Scholar
• Popay, J., Roberts, H., Sowden, A., Petticrew, M., Arai, L., Rodgers, M., & Britten, N. (2006). Guidance on the conduct of narrative synthesis in systematic reviews. A product from the ESRC Methods Programme. Version 1. https://doi.org/10.13140/2.1.1018.4643
   Google Scholar
• Rosa, H. (2003). Social acceleration: Ethical and political consequences of a desynchronized high-speed society. Constellations (oxford, England), 10(1), 239–254. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8675.00309/
   Google Scholar
• Rosa, H., & Trejo-Mathys, J. (2013). What is social acceleration? In H. Rosa (Ed.), Social acceleration: A new theory of modernity (pp. 63–94). Columbia University Press. https://doi.org/10.7312/rosa14834
   Google Scholar
• *Sayin, F. K., Denton, M., Brookman, C., Davies, S., Chowhan, J., & Zeytinoglu, I. U. (2021). The role of work intensification in intention to stay: A study of personal support workers in home and community care in Ontario, Canada. Economic and Industrial Democracy, 42(4), 917–936. https://doi.org/10.1177/0143831X18818325
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• *Seing, I., MacEachen, E., Ståhl, C., & Ekberg, K. (2015). Early-return-to-work in the context of an intensification of working life and changing employment relationships. Journal of Occupational Rehabilitation, 25(1), 74–85. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10926-014-9526-5
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Ulferts, H., Korunka, C., & Kubicek, B. (2013). Acceleration in working life: An empirical test of a sociological framework. Time & Society, 22(2), 161–185. https://doi.org/10.1177/0961463X12471006
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Van Veldhoven, M. (2014). Quantitative job demands. In M. Peeters, J. De Jonge, & T. Taris (Eds.), An introduction to contemporary work psychology (pp. 117–143). Wiley Blackwell.
   Google Scholar
• *Wankhade, P., Stokes, P., Tarba, S., & Rodgers, P. (2020). Work intensification and ambidexterity - the notions of extreme and ‘everyday’ experiences in emergency contexts: Surfacing dynamics in the ambulance service. Public Management Review, 22(1), 48–74. https://doi.org/10.1080/14719037.2019.1642377
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• *Willis, E., Toffoli, L., Henderson, J., Couzner, L., Hamilton, P., Verrall, C., & Blackman, I. (2015). Rounding, work intensification and new public management. Nursing Inquiry, 23(2), 158–168. https://doi.org/10.1111/nin.12116
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• *Xia, J., Zhang, M. M., Zhu, J. C., Fan, D., & Samaratunge, R. (2020). HRM reforms and job-related well-being of academics. Personnel Review, 49(2), 597–619. https://doi.org/10.1108/PR-05-2018-0188
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• *Yu, S. (2014). Work–life balance – work intensification and job insecurity as job stressors. Labour and Industry: A Journal of the Social and Economic Relations of Work, 24(3), 203–216. https://doi.org/10.1080/10301763.2014.961683
   Google Scholar
• Zapf, D., Semmer, N., & Johnson, S. (2014). Qualitative demands at work. In M. Peeters, J. De Jonge, & T. Taris (Eds.), An introduction to contemporary work psychology (pp. 144–169). Wiley Blackwell.
   Google Scholar
• *Zeytinoglu, I. U., Denton, M., Davies, S., Baumann, A., Blythe, J., & Boos, L. (2007). Associations between work intensification, stress and job satisfaction: The case of nurses in Ontario. Industrial Relations, 62(2), 201–225. https://doi.org/10.7202/016086ar
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar