Unwarranted Overtime: Exploring the Origins and Mitigation Strategies for Excessive Work Hours Among Employees

Bei Liu, Zhen Zhang (), Suli Dong, Xun Lu and Shuhan Yang
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Bei Liu: China University of Mining and Technology
Zhen Zhang: Academic Affairs Office, Jiangsu Normal University
Suli Dong: China University of Mining and Technology
Xun Lu: China University of Mining and Technology
Shuhan Yang: China University of Mining and Technology

Journal of the Knowledge Economy, 2025, vol. 16, issue 1, No 141, 4037-4058

Abstract: Abstract Modern society’s rapid change has transformed the workplace, making staff management difficult. This study examines how institutional environmental elements and workplace experiences affect employee work behavior management, acknowledging the relevance of work in people’s lives. It also explains how employees begin voluntary and involuntary extra work. This study analyzes data from 873 genuine samples, spanning various employees across demographic factors, gathered by random sampling using a rigorous quantitative technique. The study illuminates these variables’ complex interactions using descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, and structural equation analysis. Employees are more likely to work involuntary overtime in dehumanized organizations, with coherence as a key mediator. A study found that power distance moderates the relationship between organizational dehumanization, feeling of coherence, and involuntary overwork, highlighting its importance as a mediating mechanism. This study explains how the dehumanization system affects employees’ willingness to overwork and how self-consistency and power distance protect them, providing actionable management recommendations for addressing overtime behavior. This study also illuminates how organizational dynamics affect employee behavior in a knowledge-driven economy, making it relevant to modern workplaces.

Keywords: Employee management; Overtime work; Organizational dehumanization; Sense of coherence; Power distance; Workplace experiences (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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DOI: 10.1007/s13132-024-02148-9

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