Extreme work in organizations: mapping the field and a future research agenda

Figures & data

Figure 1. Systematic review process for extreme work and working extremely. Source: derived from Pickering and Byrne (2014) and Bolt et al. (2022).

Figure 2. Extreme work and working extremely – conceptual vs empirical (1990–2024).

Figure 3. Typology of extreme work outcomes.

Table 1. Dimensions of task/relationships and internal outcomes.

Author/year	Dimensions of context investigated	Dimension of outcomes investigated
(Telford & Briggs, 2022)	Task: Role expansion, accountability, productivity Relationships: Teacher-principal / teacher-school children. employee-manager	Relationship deterioration between teachers and principals, increased accountability with role expansion, work intensification.
(Mauno et al., 2019)	Task: Role expansion, accountability productivity Relationships: Employee-manager	Intensified skill / knowledge-related learning, intensified career planning and decision-making now normalized in role expansion, pace of work and intensification of multi-tasking, work stress levels.
(Kellogg, 2022)	Task: Process & productivity, complexity, technological innovation Relationships: Employee-manager	Loss of autonomy for low status actors as part of role changes, work intensification in job tasks, less powerful actors more impacted by work process change than higher status actors.
(Kelliher & Anderson, 2010)	Task: process & productivity, role expansion, complexity Relationships: Employee-manager	Obligation to engage with work intensification (intensification and extensification), reciprocity: additional effort-flexible work arrangement, positive, not negative outcomes of work intensification.
(Hassard & Morris, 2020)	Task: Process & productivity, complexity, accountability Relationships: Manager-co-worker / manager-organization	Impact of delayering and downsizing (longer hours, more extreme working), role expansion as consequence of delayering.
(Fitzgerald et al., 2019)	Task: Role expansion, accountability, complexity Relationships: Teacher-(vice) principal / teacher-student	Relationship tension between teaching staff and principals, pressure to perform due to role expansion and increasing complexity, collegial breakdown due to target achievement.

Table 2. Dimensions of task/relationships and external outcomes.

Author/year	Dimension of context investigated	Dimension of outcomes investigated
(Pollock et al., 2023)	Task: Role expansion, complexity, accountability Relationships: Vice principal-parents	Role conflict experienced by VP’s, emotionally draining work impact on mental and physical health of VPs, moral decision-making associated with role changes impact on psychosocial risk.
(Gluschkoff et al., 2022)	Task: Complexity, productivity, accountability Relationships: GP-patient /GP-family (spouse)	Work-family conflict as a result of intensification of GP work, patient-related stress having impact on GP duties, emotional exhaustion and burnout as a result of intensification of GP work.
(Bouwmeester et al., 2021)	Task: Complexity, productivity, accountability Relationships: Employee-Family, Employee-Client	Limited time for family, friends, sports, prioritization of work-life balance, time and strain-based conflicts resulting in work-family conflict (WFC), technology advances / constant connectivity impacting on ‘downtime’.
(Saritas, 2020)	Task: Process & productivity, accountability Relationships: Nurse-patient	Unpredictability of working hours-WLC, normalized negative impact on home life, negative impact on physical/mental health.
(Lee et al., 2021)	Task: Process & productivity, accountability Relationships: Employee-family	Negative impact on subjective wellbeing, increased risk of diabetes and hypertension, heightened risk in older cohort, cardiovascular disease.
(Root & Wooten, 2008)	Task: Standardizing work, task fragmentation, process & productivity	Work-family conflict resultant from inflexible shift work, fathers excluded from family-friendly workplace policies, necessity to develop coping mechanism to achieve work-family balance.
(MacKenzie et al., 2021)	Task: Standardizing work, task fragmentation, process & productivity Relationships: Employee-family (spouse)	Standardizing work (LEAN) created WL, working during holidays commonplace, impact on work-life balance, increased dissatisfaction with WLB.

Table 3. Dimensions of the organization/environment and internal outcomes.

Author/year	Dimensions of context investigated	Dimension of outcomes investigated
(Mccann et al., 2008)	Organization: Culture & climate, leadership, strategy, new work practices / process improvement	Work practice changes linked to reduced job security, policy changes linked to higher potential rewards, company demand for greater personal sacrifice.
(Mousa et al., 2023)	Organization: Strategy changes, culture changes, new organizational processes / process improvement, change management style	Extreme work resultant from chronic resource inadequacy, staff shortages linked to work policy changes, limited access to equipment as result of cost cutting measures, excessive management control.
(Blagoev & Schreyögg, 2019; Paškvan et al., 2016)	Organization: Strategy changes, culture & climate changes, leadership demands Environment: Professional values and norms	Temporal lock-ins changed cultural expectations, organization pressure to be ‘always on’.
(Boddy et al., 2015; Wankhade et al., 2020)	Organization: Culture & climate, leadership changes, strategy requirements, changes in management style.	Isolation and alienation as a resulting from work practice changes, exploitative atmosphere, toxic workplace culture.
(Wang et al., 2021)	Organization: New organizational policies & practices, leadership expectations Environment: Professional values and expectations	Lack of appropriate training for expanded role, policy barriers to implementing change, organizational and system issues link to reduced agency for VPs, self-care as coping mechanism to deal with work policy tensions.
(Huo et al., 2022)	Organization: Strategy changes, culture demands, new organizational processes	LEAN process implementation has adverse effect on staff, productivity changes linked to higher stress and anxiety levels, emotional exhaustion linked to LEAN work intensification.
(Cooke, 2006)	Organization: Management style, culture & climate, new organizational policies / process improvement	Informal control strategies to deal with local work policy changes, strained relationships between nursing staff and mangers, grade dilution resulting from cost cutting measures, ‘scapegoating’ and ‘lurking’ anxiety from new public management (NPM) reforms.

Table 4. Dimensions of the organization/environment and external outcomes.

Author/year	Dimensions of context investigated	Dimension of outcomes investigated
(Valli & Buese, 2007)	Environment: Government policy change, profession legitimacy	Policy reforms impacting on ‘professional ideals’/decrease in number of new teaching staff. Exclusion of teaching profession from involvement in national policy reform create tension between teaching profession and federal and state agents. Challenge to legitimacy of teaching profession. ‘At-risk’ schools likely to be more negatively impacted by federal and state teaching role reforms.
(Balducci et al., 2018; Blanco-Denoso et al., 2023)	Environment: Market forces, competition, globalization	Greater symptomology of stress, anxiety and depression, mental health worse in women vs men, WLC contribute to mental health issues in women which have spillover effects that impact on caring responsibilities in the home, further increasing psychophysiological effects of work intensification.
(Holland et al., 2018)	Environment: Government policy change, new public management (NPM), profession legitimacy	Prolonged stress ‘overspill’ to family unit/pressure to leave profession.
(Thompson et al., 2022)	Environment: Government policy change, new public management (NPM), profession legitimacy	Excessive accountability elevating stress levels, physical and emotional health and wellbeing impacting retention of experienced teachers and recruitment of new teaching professionals. Negative impact on WLC and malcontent with professional status.
(Le Fevre et al., 2015)	Environment: New public management (NPM), profession values, competition	Reduced employee wellbeing and WLC, physical and mental health issues. Growing degradation of profession work create workplace pressures that have significant spillover effect on ‘private life’.
(Zhang et al., 2023)	Environment: Government policy changes, profession legitimacy	Stress levels impact negatively on physical and mental health.

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