This Research Companion examines the effects of work hours on individual and family well-being and questions why people work hard and whether some can work too hard. It integrates contributions from two areas of research - work hours and work addiction - that have historically been pursued separately. Ronald Burke argues that while work hours have decreased for blue-collar workers, they have increased for professionals and managers, particularly in developed countries. He reveals that some employees need to work long hours while others do so willingly: people work long hours to meet individual needs and due to societal incentives such as materialism and consumerism. The book concludes that working long hours is only part of the story; why one works long hours and how one works these long hours emerge as powerful factors in determining the link between hours worked and well-being. The volume also includes recommendations for addressing a long hours culture at individual, family, organizational, community and societal levels.

Academics, students, researchers and policymakers with an interest in human resource management, work hours and work addiction and their effects will find this highly original Companion to be a fascinating rea