Blackburn, Jane (2016) Alleviating effects of work intensification on work-life outcomes for parents: The role of meaningful work. Honours thesis, University of Southern Queensland. (Unpublished)
Abstract
It is well established that work intensification can lead to stress on workers, thus negatively impacting both work productivity and outcomes for the worker. Conversely, workers who perceive their work to be meaningful report greater work satisfaction and better psychological and social adjustment, and simultaneously are more invested in their work. While there is much research on work intensification and work-life outcomes, the literature on meaningful work is still emerging, and studies investigating the relationships between these variables are scarce. This is particularly true when applied to working parents and the unique challenges they face. This study aimed to investigate the effects of work intensification on three work-life outcomes, work-to-life interference, household income, and hours of unpaid overtime worked at home, for working Australian people who have children at home and those who do not. The study also aimed to explore if meaningful work moderates the impact of work intensification on work-life outcomes in any way, for parents and those who are not parents. A subset of the AWALI 2012 dataset was utilised. Data from 2887 working Australians was examined, including those with and without children at home (n = 1312; n = 1553 respectively). For parents, it was determined that there was a significant direct effect from work intensification to work-to-life interference (p < .001), and from work intensification to the number of unpaid hours worked at home, (p < .001). It was also determined that there was no significant direct effect from work intensification to household income, (p = .605). Further investigation was carried out by examining if meaningful work had a moderating effect on work intensification. Neither interactions were found to be significant, indicating that the relationship between work intensification and workto-life interference, or between work intensification and the number of unpaid hours worked at home, was not moderated by meaningful work. Similarly, for non-parents it was determined that there was a significant direct effect from work intensification to work-to-life interference, (p < .001), from work intensification to the number of unpaid hours worked at home, (p < .001), and from work intensification to household income, (p < .001). Further investigation revealed the interactions were found to be not significant, indicating that the relationship between work intensification and the three work-life outcomes were not moderated by meaningful work. However, for both parents and non-parents, a significant positive relationship between work intensification and meaningful work was determined, (p < .001; p = .002 respectively), indicating that as feelings of work intensification increase, both parents and non-parents find their work more meaningful. These findings contribute to research on workplace stress, work-life outcomes, and interaction effects of meaningful work for working parents and workers who are not parents. Organisations could use this knowledge to inform strategies to help reduce workplace stress, to address retention and burn-out issues and to inform development of evidence-based interventions to support workers and their families who experience work intensification and its negative impacts on their life.
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| Item Type: | Thesis (Non-Research) (Honours) |
|---|---|
| Item Status: | Live Archive |
| Additional Information: | Current UniSQ staff and students can request access to this thesis. Please email research.repository@unisq.edu.au with a subject line of SEAR thesis request and provide: Name of the thesis requested and Your name and UniSQ email address |
| Faculty/School / Institute/Centre: | Historic - Faculty of Health, Engineering and Sciences - School of Psychology and Counselling (1 Jan 2015 - 31 Dec 2021) |
| Supervisors: | Michelle Adamson; Erich Fein |
| Qualification: | Bachelor of Science (Honours) |
| Date Deposited: | 13 Aug 2025 01:11 |
| Last Modified: | 13 Aug 2025 01:11 |
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | AWALI 2012 ; workplace stress ; work intensification ; work-life outcomes ; work-to-life interference ; unpaid hours worked at home ; overtime ; household income ; meaningful work ; parents ; children |
| Fields of Research (2008): | 17 Psychology and Cognitive Sciences > 1799 Other Psychology and Cognitive Sciences > 179999 Psychology and Cognitive Sciences not elsewhere classified |
| Fields of Research (2020): | 52 PSYCHOLOGY > 5299 Other psychology > 529999 Other psychology not elsewhere classified |
| URI: | https://sear.unisq.edu.au/id/eprint/52160 |
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