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

Jeffrey Olick（PI）Benjamin Snyder（co-PI）University of Pennsylvania博士论文研究：就业环境如何影响时间和压力因素摘要许多研究表明，在当今经济中，时间压力在工人中普遍存在。对我们时间的要求往往超出了我们的能力，可以成为跨越种族，性别和阶级界限的压力来源。此外，在美国，与时间压力有关的压力被认为是导致公共卫生危机的原因。现有的研究中出现了两个难题：第一，时间使用的客观指标不能很好地预测人们主观上如何感受时间压力。换句话说，长时间工作的人不一定会感到匆忙、不知所措、精疲力竭或时间紧迫。然而，一些工作时间相对较短、休闲时间较多的群体确实报告说感到了大量与时间有关的压力。第二，虽然从纵向统计来看，休闲时间与过去相比没有明显减少的趋势，但近几十年来，表示时间压力的人数有所增加。本课题通过分析就业环境与时间压力的主观感受之间的关系，来解决这一难题。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？收集的数据包括对专业行政人员、卡车司机和失业人员的观察和访谈。该项目评估（1）时间压力如何在不同的就业环境中产生，（2）一个人的时间安排的灵活性和感知的时间价值如何塑造工作流程，以及（3）个人如何在不同的文化背景下使时间压力的生活有意义。随着美国人越来越多地被工作和生活的复杂和经常相互竞争的需求所挤压，更好地了解个人如何科普这些快速和流动的社会条件所产生的新形式的压力变得至关重要。项目的研究结果将帮助研究人员、政策制定者和雇主更好地了解不同的工作经验组织方式如何产生不同形式的时间相关压力。

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.