Why do government employees work long hours, and what are the consequences? Although there is generally little scope for extra pay in return for extra hours in the Australian Public Service (APS), a significant proportion of its employees work long hours. This study draws from the organizational citizenship behavior literature in an attempt to understand why APS employees work extra hours. It uses the 2015 APS Employee Census to examine the APS employees’ patterns of working hours and the links between working extra hours and three outcomes: job performance, personal well-being, and intention to leave one’s agency. Several organizational factors are found to be positively associated with working extra hours. Many who work extra hours also believe that their job performance is high, but they report poor well-being and are thinking of leaving their agency.
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