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. 2019 Mar;61(2):182-188.
doi: 10.1002/1348-9585.12023. Epub 2019 Feb 22.

Association between working hours, work engagement, and work productivity in employees: A cross-sectional study of the Japanese Study of Health, Occupation, and Psychosocial Factors Relates Equity

Emi Okazaki  1 , Daisuke Nishi  1   2 , Ryoko Susukida  1   3 , Akiomi Inoue  4 , Akihito Shimazu  5 , Akizumi Tsutsumi  4
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Association between working hours, work engagement, and work productivity in employees: A cross-sectional study of the Japanese Study of Health, Occupation, and Psychosocial Factors Relates Equity

Emi Okazaki et al. J Occup Health. 2019 Mar.

Abstract

Objectives: The aims of the study were to investigate the association between working hours, work engagement, and work productivity, and to examine if work engagement moderates the influence of working hours on work productivity.

Methods: We used cross-sectional data from the Japanese occupational cohort survey, which involved 2093 employees in a manufacturing industry. Working hours were self-reported by the study participants. Work productivity was assessed with absolute presenteeism based on the scale of the validated Japanese version of World Health Organization Health and Work Performance Questionnaire (WHO-HPQ). Work engagement was assessed with the Nine-item Utrecht work Engagement Scale (UWES-9). Univariate and multivariable regression analyses were conducted to examine the association of working hours and work engagement with work productivity. We also carried out stratified multivariable regression analysis separately for those with high-work engagement and those with low-work engagement.

Results: Working >40 to 50 hours per week and >50 hours per week were significantly positively associated with work productivity in univariate analysis. However, the significant association no longer held after adjusting for work engagement. Work engagement was positively associated with work productivity even after controlling for potential confounders. Working hours were not significantly associated with work productivity among those with high-work engagement or among those with low-work engagement.

Conclusions: Working hours did not have any significant associations with work productivity when taking work engagement into account. Work engagement did not moderate the influence of working hours on work productivity, though it attenuated the relationship between working hours and work productivity.

Keywords: work engagement; work productivity; working hours.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no competing interests regarding this paper.

Approval of the research protocol: The Research Ethics Committee of the Graduate School of Medicine and Faculty of Medicine, The University of Tokyo (No. 2772), Kitasato University Medical Ethics Organization (No. B‐12‐103), and Ethics Committee of Medical Research, University of Occupational and Environmental Health, Japan (No. 10‐004), reviewed and approved the aims and procedures of this study. Informed consent: Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study. Registry and the registration no. of the study/trial: N/A. Animal studies: N/A.

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