Work intensification

The TUC is the voice of Britain at work. We represent more than 5.5 million working people in 48 unions across the economy. We campaign for more and better jobs and a better working life for everyone, and we support trade unions to grow and thrive.

This report is a compilation of trade union case studies showing how ‘work intensification’ is a growing problem, across a number of sectors and occupations, with negative consequences for working people. The case studies give a real life perspective of how work intensification is affecting working people. They show how unions are negotiating with employers to come up with solutions to tackle work intensification.

What is work intensification?

Work intensification has been defined 1  as “the rate of physical and/or mental input to work tasks performed during the working day”. Work intensity comprises several elements, including the rate of task performance; the intensity of those tasks in terms of physical, cognitive, and emotional demands; the extent to which they are performed simultaneously or in sequence, continuously, or with interruptions; and the gaps between tasks. This report looks at the impact of workers having to pack more work into working hours and work spilling over into their private lives.

Is work intensifying?

Work is intensifying.

TUC polling 2  shows that a majority of workers (55 per cent) feel that work is getting more intense over time. Three out of five (61 per cent) workers polled felt exhausted at the end of each day.

Why is work intensification a problem?

High and rising work intensity matters because of its detrimental impact on health, safety and well-being.

A range of health effects are associated with intensive working practises, with long hours known to be a major cause of fatigue.

When workers are tired, or under excessive pressure, they are also more likely to suffer injury, or be involved in an accident. Fatigue results in slower reactions, reduced ability to process information, memory lapses, absent-mindedness, decreased awareness, lack of attention, underestimation of risk, reduced coordination etc.

Fatigue is said to cost the UK £115 - £240 million per year in terms of work accidents alone.3

Long term-ill health conditions caused by overwork include hypertension and cardiovascular disease, digestive problems, and long-term effects on the immune system, increasing risk of autoimmune disease diagnoses. It can even result in death: one study found that in 2016, 745,000 people worldwide died as a result of working long hours alone.4

How do people experience work intensification?

This report includes case studies, provided by several unions, across a range of sectors and occupations, showing how work intensification is affecting working people.

The examples show how and why working people think that work is intensifying. They highlight the impact that work intensification has on their health and well-being, the services they deliver and on their relationships with families and friends.

The case studies show many factors can cause work intensification. For example, the Royal College of Midwives (RCM) highlights that staff shortages can lead to midwives working consecutive shifts. And the education union NASUWT shows how excessive scrutiny and oversight in the workplace can lead to work intensification because of the emotional demands placed on teachers.

Our report shows the ways unions are tackling this problem through collective bargaining strategies to tackle work intensification.

We also set out an action plan for government to safeguard workers against the effects of work intensification and stop the escalating recruitment and retention crisis in public services.

Download full report (PDF)

• 1 Green, F. (2001). “It’s been a hard day’s night: The concentration and intensification of work in late twentieth-century Britain”. British Journal of Industrial Relations 39(1): 53–80.
• 2 Nationally representative polling conducted by Thinks Insight & Strategy for TUC. 2,198 workers in England and Wales in August 2022.
• 3 Human factors: Fatigue, Health and Safety Executive Website
• 4 17 May 2021). “Long working hours increasing deaths from heart disease and stroke: WHO, ILO”. World Health Organization