Barbara Wiens-Tuers

Mandatory Overtime Work in the United States: Who, Where, and What?

Who works mandatory overtime? Descriptive analysis of a module in the 2002 General Social Survey finds that 28 percent of full-timers face and 21 percent actually worked extra hours because it was required by their employer—a slight increase since overtime work was last measured twenty-five years ago. Mandatory overtime is more frequent among men, the foreign born, those employed in non-profits, blue-collar occupations, and industries such as public administration and manu facturing. Relative to workers who have no overtime, workers who face mandatory overtime are found more frequently among workers who have inflexible work schedules, seniority, difficulty finding alternative jobs, bonus compensation, and poor relationships with management. Relative to those with non-mandatory overtime, those who work man datory overtime show less job satisfaction, job security, and say about their jobs. Thus, understanding the effects of mandatory overtime has implications for organizations that aim for high-performance workplace structures and smooth labor relations and for labor organizers who seek to attract members by addressing the negative consequences of mandatory overtime, such as heightened work-family interference. While some collective bargaining provisions seek to curb mandatory overtime, their limited effect may be why at least seven U.S. states have passed some form of legal ban and/or right to refuse.

Mandatory or Not Mandatory - Is that the Difference? The Nature of Overtime Work by Characteristics of Workers, Jobs and Employers

Analysis of the 2002 General Social Survey (GSS) Quality of Work Life Module finds that 21 percent of full-time employees worked extra hours because it was mandatory and 28 percent face required overtime work as a working condition- a slight increase since 1977. Logistic regressions find that the likelihood of working mandatory overtime, relative to working overtime that is non-mandatory or working no overtime at all, is enhanced by having certain demographic, job and workplace characteristics. This includes being male, foreign-born and full-time, employed in nonprofits and certain industries and occupational classifications. It is further enhanced by several workplace and job characteristics. This includes having more inflexible work schedules, seniority, difficulty finding alternative jobs, bonus compensation structures, a poor relationship with and low trust of management. Some characteristics of workers and workplaces increase the likelihood of working overtime that is non-mandatory. These include being single, satisfied with ones job, a union member, employed in public sector and standard (rather than contingent) jobs and having say in ones job. Potential implications are discussed for organizations, labor relations and employment law as well as for expected occupational health and safety outcomes measured in the GSS.