Overtime: Determining the Causes, Contextual Factors, Mediators, and Consequences of Long Overtime Hours Using Grounded Theory

Purpose: This article aims to present a comprehensive and localized theoretical model concerning the phenomenon of long overtime hours within the specific Iranian work and social context. The research addresses the fundamental challenge faced by contemporary organizations: the tension between their need for optimal productivity and competitive advantage on one hand, and the inherent physical and psychological limitations of the human workforce on the other. Persistent, long overtime hours represent a critical breach of this balance, leading to significant organizational and individual costs. The study, therefore, seeks to conduct an in-depth exploration to meticulously explain the causes, contextual factors, mediating variables, and multifaceted consequences of this pervasive and often complex phenomenon as it is experienced by Iranian employees. This systematic inquiry provides a necessary theoretical foundation for future intervention design.

Methodology: Adopting a grounded theory approach and utilizing the Strauss and Corbin paradigm, this research was conducted to extract and develop a localized and comprehensive model from field data. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with 28 key stakeholders, including employees with a wide range of overtime hours, managers, internal HR professionals, and external consultants. To ensure data richness, purposive sampling continued until theoretical saturation was reached, and diversity in variables such as work experience, field of activity, and job position was considered. To achieve accuracy and rigor, four criteria of trustworthiness-credibility, dependability, confirmability, and transferability-were employed. Inter-coder reliability was also confirmed using Holsti’s coefficient.

Findings: The data analysis process was conducted using the 6C framework, across three stages of open, axial, and selective coding. Regarding the causes, 35 open codes, 9 axial categories, and 7 selective categories were identified, which explain the primary roots of the overtime phenomenon. For contextual factors, 50 open codes were transformed into 7 axial and 4 selective categories, which provide the background for the emergence of long overtime hours. For mediating variables, 25 initial open codes were categorized into 7 axial and 7 selective categories, which act as protective buffers against the phenomenon. Finally, regarding the consequences, 69 open codes were organized into 12 axial and 7 selective categories, reflecting the multifaceted outcomes of overtime on both individuals and the organization. These codes were ultimately integrated under a single theoretical narrative within a localized paradigm model, serving as the initial theoretical foundation regarding overtime.

Conclusion: The results of this research reveal a dynamic and interactive model showing how contextual factors and mediating variables, as focal points for intervention, can moderate or amplify the relationship between the causes and consequences of overtime. This key finding allows organizations, even when unable to directly eliminate the root causes, to strategically invest in mediating and contextual factors to mitigate the severity of the phenomenon's negative consequences. The hierarchical classification of causes, contexts, mediators, and consequences in this research provides a practical and evidence-based roadmap for designing effective interventions in the domain of employee well-being and health for industry managers based on employees' cognitive priorities in Iran.