Organizational psychologist Amanda Jones, who specializes in remote work and work-life balance, said that despite the stereotype that work is becoming easier, in reality, work intensification has been going on for decades, which provokes burnout and layoffs.
Organizational psychologist Amanda Jones, who specializes in remote work and work-life balance, said that despite the stereotype that work is becoming easier, in reality, work intensification has been going on for decades, which provokes burnout and layoffs.
Jones told Business Insider that she first heard about and became interested in the concept of «labor intensification» while she was at school. When Jones was writing her PhD, Alan Felstead, a professor at Cardiff University, agreed to be her examiner. He has done a lot of research on labor intensification.
«One of the things that always fascinates me about this issue is that it has never declined. We are gradually working harder over time,» Jones said, pointing to Felstead’s research.
The end result is not increased productivity, but burnout and alienation. Jones believes that firing as a response to feeling overwhelmed by work is «a lot like blaming the victim; maybe they just can’t take it anymore.»
The negative consequences of work intensification include burnout and stress, which can lead to people taking long sick leave and putting a strain on the economy.
«You have people who are economically inactive, so they don’t pay taxes, but instead they may be receiving benefits. Not only will it cost more, but if we do this to people who are in the skilled workforce, it also doesn’t help us close the skills gap, so productivity will decrease,» says Jones.
Some companies are implementing a four-day workweek, which Jones says is a step in the right direction. All organizations need to realize that «what’s happening is not going to benefit them in the long run.» She says it may take «political intervention» to do so.
Jones also addressed the stereotype that remote workers are less productive because they step away from their computers to do household chores, which has become one of the reasons why many companies have forced their remote workers to return to the office.
However, according to Jones, this is another misconception, as people who work from home may actually attend more meetings than before.
«It gives you more opportunities to participate in work. If you can’t go to a meeting, in the old days you couldn’t go to a meeting because you couldn’t physically get there. Now we can go to everything,» she says.
Email and instant messaging on your phone have led to the fact that professional life has now seeped into personal life more than ever before.
«People go on vacation and do all this extra work. It doesn’t seem complicated—you have the phone in your hand and you can put it down,» says Amanda Jones.
She advises keeping a clear distinction between personal and work time, and has made it a rule to delete her email and LinkedIn when she goes on vacation.
«There’s this whole requirement to build your brand, to be constantly available and always looking for work, which adds to the intensity. It’s this ‘I always have to be competitive’ culture that affects young people, and I fear that at this rate they’ll burn out before they’re 30,» says Jones.
She recommends setting boundaries to avoid getting caught up in a cycle of work intensification, even if it’s hard to do.
«If you’re in a situation where your organization isn’t very supportive, people often don’t feel like they have any other choice but to quit or try to retrain or do something else,» the psychologist notes.
According to her, some people simply have a tendency to overwork, and care should be taken not to overwork such people.
«But on the other hand, these are the people who are striving to achieve their goals. So I think there’s an element of self-awareness and self-care,» notes Amanda Jones.
