Working 61 plus hours a week: why do managers do it?

Full Abstract

The authors investigated why some managers work extreme hours, defined as 61 or more hours per week. The authors tested explanations drawn from theories including the work-leisure tradeoff, work as an emotional respite, social contagion, and work as its own reward. In a demographically homogeneous sample of male managers, the best explanations for why some worked 61 or more hours per week were the financial and psychological rewards they received from doing so. The hypothesis derived from A. Hochschild's (1997) research that managers who work long hours seek relief at work from pressures at home was not supported. Findings in a small sample of managerial women were consistent with the work-leisure trade-off hypothesis, the social contagion hypothesis, and the work as its own reward hypothesis.

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Author information

Author/s: Brett, Jeanne M (JM); Stroh, Linda K (LK);

Affiliation: Department of Management and Organizations, Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois 60208, USA. jmbrett@kellogg.northwestern.edu

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Journal Article

Journal: The Journal of applied psychology (J Appl Psychol), published in United States. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2003-Feb; vol 88 (issue 1) : pp 67-78

Dates: Created 2003/04/04; Completed 2003/04/15; Revised 2004/11/17;

PMID: 12675395, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 11/6/2008)

Sourced from the National Library of Medicine. Abstract text and other information may be subject to copyright.

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MeSH headings (categories)

This article was linked to the MESH Headings shown below.

Administrative Personnel - psychology
Adult
Decision Making
Female
Humans
Leadership
Male

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