Time Tetris: a longitudinal study on compressed schedules and workplace well-being at IKEA

Compressed schedules, where workers perform longer daily hours to enjoy additional days off, are increasingly promoted as a workplace well-being intervention. Nevertheless, their implications for work-related well-being outcomes, such as recovery from work and burnout risk, are understudied. This gap leaves employers with little evidence on whether and how the arrangement contributes to workplace well-being.

IKEA Belgium offered its employees the option to enter compressed schedules in the aftermath of a national labour reform aimed at improving well-being and reducing burnout. We collected data on psychological detachment from work, work-related exhaustion, and burnout risk in four waves before and after implementation. We used mixed-effects growth models to estimate the within-subjects changes in these three domains, and two-way fixed effects models to compare changes with those from a non-treated comparison group.

Workers experienced increased psychological detachment from work in compressed schedules, yet we saw no decrease in work-related exhaustion or burnout risk. While between-subjects analyses confirm that the increase in psychological detachment is related to treatment, they also hint that this association may fade out during summer when all workers take more extended breaks from work.

While workers in compressed schedules may mentally switch off from work more effectively, this does not translate into decreased burnout risk scores. Consistent with theoretical expectations, policymakers and employers should be cautious in assuming that the arrangements significantly reduce burnout.