D2 B3 (15min pres)
Tracks
Track B | Ballroom 2 (recorded for In-person & digital)
| Friday, October 25, 2024 |
| 12:00 PM - 12:15 PM |
| Stream B | Ballroom 2 |
Overview
Are work hour reductions beneficial for mental health?
(Jessica Strudwick)
Presenter
Ms Jessica Strudwick
Phd Candidate & Provisional Psychologist (organisational)
The University Of Queensland
Are working hour reductions beneficial for mental health?
12:15 PM - 12:30 PMAuthor(s)
Strudwick, Jessica; Murugesan, Harivardhni; Steffens, Niklas; Peters, Kim; Inceoglu, Ilke; LaMontagne, Anthony D; Ballard, Timothy
Abstract
Background: Mental health at work is one of the most important priorities for organisations in today’s world. Concurrently, organisations are increasingly implementing interventions that reduce working hours, most notably the four-day work week. While motivations for introducing these types of interventions vary from cost-saving, enhancing talent acquisition and retention, or improving productivity amongst others – they are often touted for their positive impact on mental health. Yet existing evaluations of these interventions rely exclusively on unrepresentative samples of white collar workers with impact assessed only in the short-term.
Aim: The aim of this research is to determine the long-term effects of reducing working hours on mental health outcomes among a representative sample of 13,000 Australian workers assessed longitudinally across a 20-year period.
Content: This research uses Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia survey data. Annually from 2001-2022, this survey assesses working hours, reason for working less than full-time hours, psychological distress, and mental wellbeing. In the most recent assessment, there were 1454 individuals indicating they simply prefer to work less than full-time hours (from a list of 12 options), equating to a 95% increase across the past 20 years. Using a pre-specified analysis protocol that emulates the design of a gold standard randomised controlled trial, this research evaluates the impact on mental health when individuals reduce their working hours from ‘standard’ full-time hours (e.g., five-days per week) by 80% (e.g., four-days per week equivalent), compared to those who do not reduce their working hours. Differences in mental health between those who reduce their hours because they prefer to do so, as opposed to those who do so due to caregiving responsibilities, illness, or difficulties finding full-time work, is also provided. In addition, the analyses consider the impact of age, gender, education, income, household makeup, occupation, job autonomy, and job satisfaction.
Goals: This research represents the largest and most rigorous evaluation of working hour reductions to date. The overarching goal of this work is to provide organisations with evidence-informed advice for identifying working hour arrangements that prevent mental health harm and promote mental wellbeing.
Aim: The aim of this research is to determine the long-term effects of reducing working hours on mental health outcomes among a representative sample of 13,000 Australian workers assessed longitudinally across a 20-year period.
Content: This research uses Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia survey data. Annually from 2001-2022, this survey assesses working hours, reason for working less than full-time hours, psychological distress, and mental wellbeing. In the most recent assessment, there were 1454 individuals indicating they simply prefer to work less than full-time hours (from a list of 12 options), equating to a 95% increase across the past 20 years. Using a pre-specified analysis protocol that emulates the design of a gold standard randomised controlled trial, this research evaluates the impact on mental health when individuals reduce their working hours from ‘standard’ full-time hours (e.g., five-days per week) by 80% (e.g., four-days per week equivalent), compared to those who do not reduce their working hours. Differences in mental health between those who reduce their hours because they prefer to do so, as opposed to those who do so due to caregiving responsibilities, illness, or difficulties finding full-time work, is also provided. In addition, the analyses consider the impact of age, gender, education, income, household makeup, occupation, job autonomy, and job satisfaction.
Goals: This research represents the largest and most rigorous evaluation of working hour reductions to date. The overarching goal of this work is to provide organisations with evidence-informed advice for identifying working hour arrangements that prevent mental health harm and promote mental wellbeing.
Learning outcomes
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Jess is a provisionally registered psychologist completing a dual Master of Organisational Psychology and PhD at The University of Queensland. Jess is interested in understanding and improving the role of work as a social determinant of mental health, which has been strengthened through 5 years of experience working on projects related to mental health at work across academic, not-for-profit, governmental, and private sectors. Her current research focuses on the impact of working hours on mental health, with a particular focus on using existing data to model how changes in working hours affect population mental health outcomes.
