Why this matters (for scientists and everyone else)
We often lump “working hard” and “working a lot” together. However, they’re not the same thing. This study introduces I-CHEW—the Individual Perceptions of Cultural Hard and Excessive Work scale—to quantify how people think their society values work:
- Hard work ideal: efficiency, quality, wise time use.
- Excessive work ideal: long hours, high quantity, constant prioritization of work.
That split seems subtle; yet it predicts very different outcomes for people and organizations.
What the researchers did (the science in plain English)
The team built and validated the I-CHEW in four stages using six diverse samples (full-time employees, business undergrads, MBA students & alumni), totaling 1,902 participants:
- Item development & selection: Started with 98 conceptually grounded items → refined to 20 final items (10 “hard,” 10 “excessive”) using EFA, IRT, and ESEM to keep only the most informative questions.
- Structure & reliability: Two-factor model (hard vs. excessive) fit well across samples; test–retest reliability was solid (1-week; r≈.65 for hard, r≈.83 for excessive).
- Validity network: Showed convergent, discriminant, and criterion validity versus neighboring constructs (e.g., work ethic, overwork climate, workaholism, performance orientation).
- Incremental validity: Even after accounting for those established measures, I-CHEW still predicted outcomes, adding ~2–11% unique explanatory power.
There’s also a short form (I-CHEW-10) with 5 items per dimension for quick field use.
Key findings (short, punchy, and practical)
When people perceive their culture values hard work (work smart):
- Higher engagement, empowerment, job satisfaction, and work–life balance.
- Lower cynicism.
- No hit to physical health metrics.
- Tends to align with performance orientation, long-term thinking, and self-reliance.
When people perceive their culture values excessive work (work endlessly):
- Higher emotional exhaustion, cynicism, and performance anxiety.
- Lower engagement, well-being, job satisfaction, work–life balance, and physical health (including sleep).
- Correlates with overwork climates and more actual hours worked—without the benefits.
Bottom line: Cultivating a hard-work ideal improves energy and outcomes; normalizing excessive work drains both people and performance.
For leaders, HR, and policy makers
- Diagnose the culture: Use I-CHEW-20 or I-CHEW-10 in climate surveys to capture how employees perceive societal norms that filter into your org.
- Shift the signals: Reward outputs and quality, not seat time. Publicly celebrate efficiency, deep work, and timely shutdowns.
- Measure what you model: Track engagement, cynicism, well-being, and health alongside productivity. As signals move from “excessive” to “hard,” these metrics should improve.
- Protect boundaries: Normalize leaving on time, using PTO, and “right to disconnect” periods. Train managers to avoid “always on” expectations.
- Iterate with data: Re-run I-CHEW quarterly; pair with burnout/engagement metrics to quantify the ROI of cultural change.
For scientists and methods geeks
- Factor structure: Robust two-factor solution across samples; partial scalar invariance across the U.S. and Canada indicates cross-group comparability with minor intercept adjustments.
- Psychometrics: Combined EFA + IRT (graded response models) to maximize item information and coverage; CFA confirms structure; test–retest supports stability.
- Discriminant validity: I-CHEW factors are distinct from overwork climate, work ethic, workaholism, and performance orientation.
- Predictive utility: Even controlling for those constructs, I-CHEW improves prediction of engagement, burnout, job satisfaction, WLB, well-being, and health.
Take-home analogy (for non-scientists)
Think of culture like a traffic system.
- A “hard work culture” times the lights so you flow smoothly—you get far with less fuel.
- An “excessive work culture” leaves all lights perpetually green, so everyone speeds and idles more, burning out engines without actually arriving faster.
What to do tomorrow
- Audit your rituals: Are promotions and praise tied to impact or hours?
- Refactor meetings: Halve recurring durations; shift status updates async.
- Protect deep-work hours: Block maker time; discourage after-hours pings.
- Model the shutdown: Leaders leave on time—and say why.
Check out the cool NewsWade YouTube video about this article!
Article derived from: Huang, H.-C. (Brad), Götz, F. M., & ten Brummelhuis, L. L. (2025). Biting Off More Than You Can Chew at Work: Measuring Individual Perceptions of Cultural Hard and Excessive Work (I-CHEW). Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 0(0). https://doi.org/10.1177/01461672251368648
