Doctoral Dissertation Research: How Employment Context Shapes Time and Stress Factors

弗吉尼亚大学博士论文研究：就业环境如何塑造时间和压力因素摘要大量研究表明，在当今的经济中，时间压力在职场人士中普遍存在。对我们时间的要求往往超出了我们满足这些要求的能力，并可能成为跨越种族、性别和阶级界限的压力来源。此外，在美国，与时间压力相关的压力被认为是导致公共健康危机的原因之一。从现有的研究中发现了两个困惑：首先，客观的时间使用衡量标准不能很好地预测人们如何主观地体验时间压力。换句话说，长时间工作的人不一定会感到匆忙、不知所措、筋疲力尽或时间紧迫。然而，一些工作时间相对较少、闲暇时间较多的人群确实报告说感受到了与时间相关的巨大压力。其次，报告时间压力的人数在过去几十年里有所上升，尽管纵向统计数据没有显示出与过去相比休闲时间减少的明显趋势。该项目通过分析就业背景和时间压力的主观体验之间的联系来解决这个问题。研究的核心问题是：不同的职业环境如何塑造人们体验时间的方式，导致一些人将时间视为压力的来源？数据收集包括对行政管理专业人员、卡车司机和失业者的观察和采访。该项目评估(1)时间压力是如何在不同的就业环境中产生的，(2)一个人的时间表的灵活性和对时间的感知价值如何影响工作流程，(3)个人如何在不同的文化背景下对时间压力的生活产生意义。广泛的影响该项目解决了公众对美国等现代社会生活节奏的迫切担忧。随着美国人越来越多地面临复杂且往往相互竞争的工作和生活需求，更好地理解个人如何应对这些快速多变的社会条件带来的新形式的压力变得至关重要。

SES - 1131551Jeffrey Olick (PI)Benjamin Snyder (co-PI)University of VirginiaDoctoral Dissertation Research: How Employment Context Shapes Time and Stress FactorsAbstractNumerous studies have shown that time pressure is widespread among workers in today's economy. Demands on our time often exceed our ability to meet them and can become a source of stress that crosses racial, gender, and class boundaries. Moreover, in the American context, stress related to time pressure is considered as contributing to a public health crisis. Two puzzles emerge from existing research: First, objective measures of time use are poor predictors of how people experience time pressure subjectively. In other words, people who work long hours do not necessarily report feeling rushed, overwhelmed, burned out, or pressed for time. Yet, some groups with relatively low work hours and high leisure time do report feeling a great deal of time-related stress. Second, the number of people reporting time pressure has risen over the last few decades, although longitudinal statistics show no clear trend regarding a decrease in leisure time compared to the past.This project addresses this puzzle by analyzing the link between employment context and the subjective experience of time pressure. The central research question is: How do different occupational contexts shape the way people experience time, leading some to experience time as a source of stress? The data collection includes observations of and interviews with executive professionals, truck drivers and unemployed persons. The project evaluates (1) how time pressure is produced in different employment contexts, (2) how the flexibility of one's schedule and the perceived value of one's time shape the flow of work, and (3) how individuals make meaning of a time-pressured life within different cultural contexts.Broader ImpactsThe project addresses pressing public concern about the pace of life in modern societies like the United States. As Americans are increasingly squeezed between complex and often competing demands of work and life, the need to better understand how individuals cope with the new forms of stress created by these fast and fluid social conditions becomes paramount. Project findings will help researchers, policy makers, and employers better understand how different ways of organizing the work experience produce different forms of time-related stress.