Introduction

Many organizations, regardless of country, adhere to a 5 day, 40 h/week work policy. In this context, overtime can be defined as working additional hours per day, and beyond the standard 40 h in a given workweek. However, in some cultures, different norms have evolved. For example, Golden (2009) reports that U.S. employees work more hours than German and French workers do. Dembe (2009) also notes that Americans work more than Europeans but less than Asians. In fact, working overtime seems to be a prevalent aspect of the Asian workplace (Beckers et al. 2004). While many Western employees work a full 40 h/week, similarly placed Asian employees may work more than 60 h/week (e.g., Amagasa et al. 2005; Beckers et al. 2004). Due to the severe and chronic overtime work, Asian employees often express stress-related issues including karoshi, a fatal syndrome (Kanai 2009; Buell and Breslow 1960), and some have committed suicide (Amagasa et al. 2005). In spite of the harmful personal effects of working overtime, many Asian companies have been able to achieve huge success within a short period of time because of this behavior (Miles and Goo 2013).

There are several reasons that can account for overtime work such as heavy workloads, ineffective working processes, and unexpected issues (Burke 2001). For instance, in Western culture, overtime might be seen as a necessary evil Molinsky and Miles (2005). That is, a work-related task is performed outside of normal work hours because task completion benefits the organization. Molinsky and Miles (2005) indicate that individuals may perform these necessary evils because of demanding role expectations. Moreover, salaried managerial employees may work additional hours without additional pay because of the obligations of their work duties (Wallace 1997) as well as expectations of the professional role of a manager. Although predictors for overtime work (e.g., variations in workload, employee absenteeism, and insufficient equipment) have been rigorously studied in Western management literature (McConnell 2008; LeBlanc et al. 1998; Angalakudati et al. 2014), investigating specific characteristics of Eastern cultural orientations (i.e., those stemming from Confucianism) that may influence overtime work among Asian employees can provide additional perspectives.

While there have been mixed findings on the effect that overtime has on productivity, Hollmann (1979) claimed that the seemingly voluntary overtime behavior exhibited by Asian employees was in fact productive. Hollmann (1979) provided evidence that one’s identification with the organization correlated with a stronger willingness to work overtime. More recently, Akerlof and Kranton (2005) reported that workers who identify with their organizations often required fewer extrinsic rewards for diligent work, which could include commitment to working overtime. Hence, some workforces may be naturally or culturally inclined to overtime work. These employees may feel that they could benefit from incentives other than those that are simply monetary, and this consequently provides benefits to their organization. These earlier studies are meaningful because they focus attention on sociocultural predictors of overtime.

In this paper, we suggest potential predictors of overtime behavior in Asian employees stem from Confucian culture, a predominant influence in East Asian societies. It is true that many other spiritual and ideological values are widespread in Asian societies (e.g., Buddhism, Daoism, Christianity, Capitalism etc.) (Balazs 1960; Dueck and Han 2012). However, the reason we mainly focus on Confucianism is that this ethical value provides a dominant philosophical foundation throughout Asian workplaces (e.g., China, Korea, and Japan), where overtime work is prevalent. Thus, we attempt to find conceptual linkages between Confucian culture and overtime work in Asian workplaces. In so doing, we attempt to fill an important theoretical gap in cultural studies and suggest contributions to management literature on cultural ethics and workaholism.

In the following section we initially discuss Confucian culture in Asian organizations and describe the sub-elements of Confucian culture, and we explain how these sub-elements are associated with or different from constructs in Hofstede’s (1984, 1991) and House et al.’s (2004) cultural frameworks. Second, we formulate arguments for the theoretical associations between specific cultural orientations within Confucian culture and Asian employees’ affective or normative motives. Finally, we conceptualize employees’ psychological processes toward actual overtime work.

Literature Review and Propositions

Confucianism and Confucian Culture in Asian Organizations

Confucianism, which first emerged in China around 500 B.C. through the teachings of the philosopher Confucius, is a dominant influence in several Asian countries (i.e., China, Korea, and Japan) (Yan and Sorenson 2006). This philosophical value is a 2500-year-old guiding set of social, moral, and ethical principles that are highly ingrained in many East Asian societies (Yan and Sorenson 2006). Over 20 % of the world’s population adheres to a Confucian culture, and it provides a framework for the proper conduct and behavior of individuals as determined by their role in the aggregate community (Yan and Sorenson 2006). Additionally, it suggests various attitudinal and behavioral norms (Ackerman et al. 2009). Of course, not all East Asians would consider themselves to be traditional followers of Confucianism, but they are likely to be influenced by the Confucian cultures in which they live. To illustrate, consider Christianity, which has shaped Western culture in terms of human rights, perceptions surrounding life and death, and relationships between the sexes in such a way that it affects both Christians and non-Christians (Lobkowicz 1991). Although one may not be a follower of a predominate religion or ideology, he or she may still be affected by it due to its effect on his or her culture.

It is for this reason that it is important to note that Confucianism and Confucian culture are two very interrelated but distinct constructs. An individual may be a member of a Confucian culture but may not necessarily be a traditional follower of Confucianism. For example, Confucian heritage attaches a great deal of importance to effort, yet if an individual fails, followers of traditional Confucianism would recognize the individual’s efforts and stress empathy and forgiveness (Stankov 2010). However, modern Confucian culture appears far less forgiving of failure, likely because the relatively recent socio-political past, increasing populations, and rapid economic developments of East Asian societies have greatly increased competition and exacerbated particular features of Confucianism (Stankov 2010). In this example, in particular, the competition and scarcity of resources that have arisen from recent historical developments in regions with Confucian cultures has led members to place even more stress on the importance of effort and willpower, and this has altered concepts from traditional Confucianism in such a way that many individuals of modern Confucian cultures actually attach harsh, negative judgements to others’ failures rather than express traditional Confucian forgiveness (Stankov 2010). As made clear by this example, cultural orientations stemming from ideologies such as Confucianism can be slightly different from their parent ideologies and can impact the culture in which one lives even if that individual is not a traditional follower. An example of a more depraved and extreme contortion of ethics is the use of Kantian ethics, which traditionally stresses that people should be treated as “ends” rather than “means” to garner dignity and respect (Strudler 2008, p. 69), by Nazi perpetrators to justify their acts during the Holocaust (Alloa 2015).

We suggest that this unique cultural value (i.e., Confucian culture) may have a significant impact on the workplace attitudes and behaviors of Asian employees as well as those of workforces with cultures similarly influenced by this culture. Confucianism is based on the philosophy of becoming a good, moral human being within a society (i.e., a good citizen) (Chen and Chung 1994), and that to live the good life one must recognize the fundamental importance of one’s role in his or her home and workplace (Strudler 2008) and of his or her particularistic personal ties (Kim 2014). Furthermore, scholars of Confucianism have argued that Confucian moral perfection is achieved through the realization of coherence (Li, 理), or the “contextually valued and intelligible way that things fit together” in a given situation (Kim 2014, p. 571), and that Li is diverse and extends to all business of life (Kim and Strudler 2012). In other words people, or workers in the context of this paper, in Confucian cultures may feel that they are acting morally upright by expressing behaviors that are harmonious, respect coherence (Li 理), and are relevant to their particular situation, such as their family, community, or work environment. Finally, Confucian theory suggests that ritual matters in the workplace, and that sentiments are often best expressed through entrenched conventions (Kim and Strudler 2012).

In this paper, we assume that cultures interpret and engage in overtime for a variety of reasons. In Confucian cultures, overtime might have a symbolic and almost moral function (Chan 2008). Within Asian employees’ mindsets, working overtime can be perceived differently based upon how employees view their assigned roles and how much they value their colleagues at work (Ng et al. 2007). Hence, some Asian employees may be obligated to work overtime simply because there is an unavoidable heavy workload, and they may negatively view this overtime as an impediment on their personal time. Conversely, other Asian employees may voluntarily work overtime for the benefit of their workforce, believing that their additional effort will demonstrate their affective commitment and also have long-term benefits. The cultural perspective of considering both normative and affective psychological motives might be based on the Confucian philosophy of holism (i.e., everything has both good and bad) (Phillips 1976). Although working overtime may result in negative employee outcomes and even counterproductive behaviors (Amagasa et al. 2005), a more balanced approach could be taken by understanding affective and normative motives for employee overtime in Asian organizations. Therefore, we propose that there are four particularly important Confucian orientations that potentially influence overtime work among Asian employees and are contextually apt, or coherent (Kim 2014), for the work environment.

Confucian Culture and its Sub-Orientations

The core spirit of Confucian culture can be summarized as “virtue as the foundation, group as the importance, and harmony as the quintessence” from the perspective of enhancing soft power of Chinese culture (Mingyan 2012, p. 79). It must be stressed that Confucian culture is more a system of ethics than a religion as it does not promise nor describe a divine plane for the spirit after death, or propose the existence of any sort of heavenly power (Lew et al. 2011). Rather, the Analects of Confucius, which were written and compiled by Confucius’ followers based upon his teachings, focus on the individual’s proper mentality and behavior during his/her existence in the present realm through a set of outlined, governing principles (Chan 2008). These teachings entail a myriad of desirable characteristics, morals, and attributes that the individual should embrace, and they recognize the importance of one’s role and particularistic ties in the greater community (i.e., the extended family relationship). These may be condensed into four sub-categories, or cultural orientations, that, as explained earlier, are contextually apt (coherent) for the work environment and overarch a majority of Confucius’ tutelage. Thus, Confucian culture has influenced East Asian societies to have righteousness-oriented, seniority-based cultures that place a high value on interpersonal relationships and an emphasis on benevolence.

Each of our four Confucian sub-orientations stems from traditional teachings in Confucianism and focuses on how to become a good organizational citizen within families and workplaces impacted by Confucian cultures. While Confucian cultures positively correlate with various outcomes (Huang et al. 2012; Wah 2010; Franke et al. 1991; Noland 2005), our goal is to detail four very specific Confucian orientations that predominately contribute to overtime behavior, thus delineating them from other Confucian values that are less connected to such behavior.

A variety of researchers have developed conceptual dimensions to understand cultural differences and have made important contributions to cross-culture literature (Hofstede 1984; House et al. 2004; Triandis 1989). For example, in his seminal work, Hofstede (1984, 1991) introduced five cultural dimensions: power distance, individualism-collectivism, masculinity–femininity, uncertainty avoidance, and long-term orientation. Subsequently, House et al. (2004) delineated nine cultural dimensions in the GLOBE study: uncertainty avoidance, power distance, institutional collectivism, in-group collectivism, gender egalitarianism, assertiveness, future orientation, performance orientation, and humane orientation. These cultural frameworks have been frequently applied and explored by others in the behavioral and cultural literature (Earley 1993; Lee et al. 2000; Moorman and Blakely 1995; Wheeler 2002).

Both Hofstede’s (1984, 1991) and House et al.’s (2004) frameworks include certain cultural orientations (e.g., collectivism and long-term orientation) that are associated with Confucian values. However, if we take a deeper look at the roles of Confucianism within Asian organizations, we can clearly see that this cultural ethic provides complicated and profound lessons about Asian people that cannot be solely explained by either of these other frameworks. Confucianism was largely ignored by scholars and practitioners because of negative perceptions of aspects of this cultural value such as saving face, often referred to as mianzi, respect for outmoded tradition, and reciprocation of greetings, favors, and gifts (Li and Madsen 2009). Recently, however, researchers have become aware of several positive aspects of Confucianism for organizations and have attempted to apply it to managerial practices (Jaw et al. 2007; Kim 2014; Pun et al. 2000) and systems of business ethics (Ip 2009a; Lin and Ho 2009; Woods and Lamond 2011). For example, Confucianism emphasizes the value of diligence and faithfulness among employees and thus is helpful in maximizing organizational effectiveness (Chan 2008). In addition, Confucianism embeds a passion for learning and leads to a learning-oriented organizational culture (Ackerman et al. 2009). Given this call in previous work, it is important to consider how Confucian cultural orientations may affect Asian employees’ work attitudes. Therefore, we extend previous cultural frameworks (e.g., Hofstede 1984; House et al. 2004), and we propose a model for the impact of Confucian culture on employee attitudes and behaviors in Asian organizations.

In this section, comparisons are drawn between the Confucian orientations and the dimensions of the GLOBE research program (House et al. 2002). The purpose for doing this is to clarify the Eastern-based dimensions by using this popular, understandable Western cultural framework. It is worth noting that only six of the nine cultural dimensions measured by GLOBE (House et al. 2002) have conceptual associations with Confucian orientations, and that we chose to compare our Confucian orientations to those of the GLOBE project rather than to those of Hofstede’s framework because we believe that there are certain dimensions of GLOBE that much more closely correspond with those used in this paper. In particular, cultural behavior associated with power distance and institutional collectivism is comparable to the behavior associated with Confucian seniority orientation, institutional collectivism, and future orientation share similarities with Confucian relationship orientation, future orientation and performance orientation echo Confucian righteousness orientation, and finally in-group collectivism and humane orientation are comparable to Confucian benevolence orientation. If applied and measured in a given culture, we would expect that high levels of our four Confucian orientations would correspond with similarly high levels of their respective GLOBE dimensions. Figure 1 provides a mapping of the GLOBE dimensions with their respective Confucian orientations that are discussed in this paper.

Fig. 1
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Comparison between Cross-cultural frameworks by House et al. (2004) and Confucian orientations

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Seniority Orientation (Choong, 忠)

In seniority-based Confucian cultures, there are strong feelings of loyalty to superiors. Society is characterized by extremely hierarchal social structures, and most citizens believe that harmony is a byproduct of strict social order (Ackerman et al. 2009). Confucians cannot help but judge their own role relation to those with whom they are socializing based on factors such as family background, occupation, and closeness (Lin 2010). Confucians wholeheartedly believe that stability in the social environment is only achieved by recognizing and adhering to the unequal relationships that exist inherently between individuals (Yang 2012). This Confucian concept of propriety is called Choong (忠), and it mandates speech, conduct, and the process by which one sets an example based upon their superior or inferior status (Chen and Chung 1994).

There are several conceptual similarities between Confucian seniority orientation and power distance. GLOBE’s power distance metric assesses the degree to which organizational and/or societal members expect power to be unequally shared (House et al. 2002), as does Confucian seniority orientation. Furthermore, individuals in societies with high levels of power distance typically respect authority, status, and prestige, much like members of Confucian cultures (Javidan and House 2001). Another comparable dimension is institutional collectivism, which encourages the integration of people into institutions within organizations and society as a whole (Javidan and House 2001). The reason this dimension is related to seniority orientation is that members of cultures with high levels of institutional collectivism pay close attention to their desired roles in any given environment, and it is these role relations that Confucians use to understand pecking order and assimilate their behavior accordingly. Of course, there are differences between the GLOBE dimensions and seniority orientation. Table 1 summarizes the similar and contrasting characteristics between the GLOBE dimensions and Confucian orientations.

Table 1 Comparison between Cross-cultural frameworks by House et al. (2004) and Confucian Orientations
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Relationship Orientation (Guanxi, 關係)

A different, but related, dimension of Confucian cultures is a strong orientation toward interpersonal relationships, which we labeled relationship orientation. One of the most important and recognized concepts emerging from Confucianism’s emphasis on relationships is guanxi (關係), which is a social system of mutual exchange that is highly transferable, reciprocal, intangible, and personal (Hsiung 2013; Wright et al. 2002). Collectivist Confucian societies assume that everyone has a very particular role and within these roles natural cordial connections are forged (Song et al. 2011). Interpersonal favors and exchanges characterize relationships in these cultures, oftentimes resulting in a sort of social favor bank that can be leveraged in times of need (Luo 1997). Confucians very much consider themselves to be intertwined into a larger collective society in which they fabricate strong relationships built upon commitment and trust through primarily transactional motives. While many East Asian societies are in fact highly collective, we are placing the emphasis heavily on guanxi in our conceptual outline of this orientation. Wright et al. (2002) state that guanxi is characterized by implicit rules. The relationship orientation, which relies on guanxi, is much more personal than collectivism implies. Guanxi motives are very interpersonal and transactional. The primary focus is on the long-term relationships that exist between the individual workers and their company or superiors, and these relationships are based on exchanges that each party offers the other. As mentioned, these interactions create a sort of individual social favor bank that can be used to promote one’s own needs or interests. Thus, there are important conceptual associations between relationship orientation and both institutional collectivism and future orientation of GLOBE’s dimensions.

Institutional collectivism, as mentioned earlier, stresses the importance of societies and one’s place in these societies (Javidan and House 2001). Both institutional collectivism and relationship orientation recognize intangible human relationships, and both are applicable to human interactions within and between organizations in society. Another related GLOBE dimension is future orientation, which entails delaying gratification, investing, and planning (Javidan and House 2001). Guanxi also focuses on the long term and likewise encourages investment, though in personal relationships, so that these relationships can then be utilized in the future. Table 1 provides a summary of similar and different aspects of each of these dimensions.

Righteousness Orientation (Yi, 義)

Another key teaching of Confucius is the perfectibility of the human being and of all their actions (Chen and Chung 1994). This has led Confucian cultures to be extremely righteous oriented in not only in their actions but also in their spirit (Chen and Chung 1994). The Confucian concept of Yi (義) plays a central part in the emergence of this orientation as Yi dictates that all people must be righteous, faithful, and just in social interaction, and in all actions for that matter (Chen and Chung 1994). Perfection through self-cultivation and diligence is achievable yet it is an ongoing pursuit, with the goal of becoming junzi, the Confucian gentleman (Chan 2008). The junzi is one who practices the “five virtues” of earnestness, liberty, truthfulness, diligence, and generosity, and through his efforts he strives to promote the greater good (Chan 2008). According to Confucius, all men must aim to be wholesome, righteous members of society.

The GLOBE dimensions that titled future orientation and performance orientation have behavioral implications similar to those of righteousness orientation. Future-oriented cultures tend to expect members to plan for the long term and work diligently, oftentimes delaying gratification (Javidan and House 2001). Confucian righteousness orientation similarly recognizes the importance of long-term oriented behavior as many Confucians believe that becoming junzi is an ongoing pursuit and that consistent, hard work to try to perfect their output will result in future gratification. Another GLOBE dimension that echoes righteousness orientation is performance orientation, which reflects the degree to which a given culture encourages improvement and excellence in one’s work (Javidan and House 2001), just as righteousness orientation does. Righteousness orientation is about achieving perfection in one’s work because it is the “right” thing to do, and Confucians typically share the belief that perfecting oneself is an ongoing, long-term pursuit. It is for these reasons that we chose these two GLOBE dimensions for comparison.

Benevolence Orientation (Ren, 仁)

Finally, benevolence, or altruism, is considered to be a cornerstone of the Confucian lifestyle (Chan 2008). At the core of this orientation lie both the Golden Rule and Ren (仁), the Confucian concept that embodies love, self-discipline, filial piety, and trust (Chen and Chung 1994). Oftentimes Confucians associate benevolence with self-sacrifice as Confucius expressed that one can only confirm and enlarge oneself by doing so for others, often coming at the cost of personal desires (Chen and Chung 1994). By being an altruistic person, one must display perseverance, selflessness, and interpersonal care, and by doing so one will receive intrinsic rewards such as self-enhancement and achievement of personal interests (Jaw et al. 2007).

Benevolence orientation shares conceptual similarities with GLOBE’s in-group collectivism dimension and humane orientation. In-group collectivism gauges the level of pride one takes in their families, groups, and organizations (Javidan and House 2001), and it is similar to benevolence orientation in that they share the idea that the group’s goals take precedence over the individual’s goals. The other construct, humane orientation, measures to what extent society encourages and values altruistic, kindhearted behavior (Javidan and House 2001). When taken into joint consideration, it is clear why these two GLOBE dimensions were chosen: benevolence orientation usually entails self-sacrificial, generous behavior that promotes the goals of the group.

While it is difficult to express in a finite number of terms, the crucial dimensions of Confucianism can be expounded by these four social and cultural orientations. Confucian cultures are seniority based and therefore are very hierarchal in human interactions. Confucians also place a high level of importance on interpersonal relationships that are primarily derived from social roles and can act as a sort of tool in times of need. These cultures are also very driven by righteousness and the pursuit of perfection (Chen and Chung 1994). Hence, most Confucians are expected to be ambitious, diligent, and just in their actions and the fulfillment of their responsibilities. Finally, Confucians place an incredible emphasis on benevolence, which in itself demands a great deal of self-sacrifice for the promotion of the greater good (Fig. 2).

Fig. 2
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Conceptual Map between Confucian orientations and Cross-cultural frameworks by House et al. (2004)

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Cultural Orientations Toward Affective and Normative Motives for Overtime Work

Meyer and Allen’s (1991) organizational commitment research indicates that there are some psychological attitudes that may characterize an employee’s affective and normative motives. First, affective motive is conceptualized as the employees’ positive emotional status toward their work and job roles (Meyer and Allen 1991). Employees who have a strong affective motive will exert task-related efforts to achieve organizational goals, and they typically desire to remain a part of the organization. Second, normative motive is defined as the individual intention to work on assigned tasks due to feelings of obligation (Meyer and Allen 1991). Employees who have normative motives feel a sense of duty to work. This feeling may derive from a strain or a pressure on employees within an organization (Meyer and Allen 2010). These two motivational attitudes dominantly affect employee behaviors at workplaces in general (Meyer and Allen 1991; Wiener 1982) and even in specific organizational contexts (Herscovitch and Meyer 2002; Hill et al. 2012). In this paper, we propose that Chinese cultural orientations within Confucianism can promote either affective or normative motives for overtime work among employees, which in turn affect actual employee behaviors, namely working overtime. As we conceptualize four major components of Confucianism, we suggest a map between these components and employee motives.

Seniority Orientation and Normative Motive for Overtime Work

Seniority-based culture is an important aspect of Confucian society. There is a great respect for status in Confucian societies, and it is this reverence for individual titles, authority, and prestige that influences many Asian people to embrace a cultural orientation of respect for senior people by admitting their authority (Li and Madsen 2009). In Asian workplaces specifically, seniority orientation may be reflected by employees who exhibit diligent work ethic, respect for authority, and loyalty (忠) to supervisors, who are traditionally older than their subordinates (Kim and Park 2003). In fact, until the late 1990s Asian public and private organizations had predominantly adopted a seniority policy, a system based upon length of service used for determining employment advantages (Adams and Ichimura 1998). Adoption of a seniority policy was a common characteristic among many Asian organizations. Within seniority-based organizational cultures, Asian employees tend to feel safe when their positions are guaranteed by seniority (Li and Madsen 2009). As already alluded to, the commonality of these corporate seniority policies is curtailing, but they certainly exemplify the seniority orientation underlying Confucian cultures.

It is nearly impossible for Confucians to socialize with one another without judging their role relation to those with whom they are socializing based upon factors such as closeness and pecking order, or essentially the dominant-subordinate relationship (Lin 2010). Given the emphasis and attention given to the superior-inferior relationship, it is reasonable to suggest that a seniority orientation may create a strong situational power where employees become very self-conscious and conscious of their supervisor. Social learning theory (Bandura 1977) suggests that employees regulate their behavioral patterns by observing and modeling others (e.g., supervisors and co-workers). Woods and Lamond (2011) referring to Bandura (1991), suggest that in the case of Confucianism self-regulation would involve self-cultivation and refinement of character. Hence, subordinate employees may find themselves learning behaviors expected of their role by noting the behavioral patterns of their superiors and self-consciously applying them to their own position. This, in turn, results in a set of implied organizational norms that guides individual conduct. If there is an implicit norm that prohibits certain behaviors (e.g., leaving earlier than supervisors, voicing opinions toward senior members, disobeying the orders of senior workers, etc.,), employees may hold the perception that they are unable to violate this norm, which once again is distinguished by self-consciously monitoring their supervisors’ behavior.

People with high levels of self-consciousness tend to continuously watch the behaviors of others and try to normatively adjust their attitudes so as not to be interpreted as deviant (Becker-Haven and Lindskold 1978). In strong seniority-based organizations built upon hierarchal relationships and status, employees tend to be very conscious of their surroundings and they may feel inclined to uphold normative motives that obey the implicit norm(s) frequently suggested by seniority orientation, including the aforementioned diligence, loyalty, and respect for authority. Additionally, Confucian employees oftentimes may compare their own work and work ethic to those demonstrated by their senior members. They, therefore, may put forth additional effort to meet the implicit norms of their supervisors. We suggest that those who adhere to Confucian cultural values and are in subordinate positions are more likely than traditional Western employees to demonstrate high-caliber work behaviors based on their normative motives. In other words, Confucians’ reverence for those in senior positions and recognition of their subordinate roles rouses strong levels of self-consciousness, particularly in organizational settings, leading to normative motives, which involve a sense of obligation to work longer hours.

P1

The stronger the seniority orientation, the higher employee self-consciousness, thus resulting in a normative motive for overtime work.

Relationship Orientation and Normative Motive for Overtime Work

Relationship orientation reflects another important aspect of Confucian values as it esteems human relationships. Unlike Western employees who typically maintain professional relationships based on concise formal contracts, particularly as it pertains to employment (e.g., official job descriptions and work assignments), East Asian employees place more emphasis on the long-term relationship between people (Hofstede 1991). A term commonly associated with Confucians’ relationship orientation is guanxi, which entails reciprocal social exchanges for mutual benefits, particularly in a business or organizational environment (Chan 2008). Similarly, social exchange theory (Blau 1964) expresses that all human relationships are formed by the use of a subjective cost-benefit analysis and the comparison of alternatives. Guanxi’s (關係) approach to human relationships is consistent with social exchange theory as Confucians focus on relationships considered egocentrically beneficial, and therefore they are more transactional than emotional, yet the cooperation emanating from guanxi relationships is prosperous for all parties involved (Hsiung 2013). In this regard, Asian employees apply broader boundaries of social exchange based on formal and informal contracts. In fact, scholars have suggested that connections among Confucians are often implied by one’s role in social and organizational settings (Song et al. 2011), and much like these connections, work contracts may also contain implicit elements. Namely, Asian employees stress both explicit and implicit human relationships obeying the relationship orientation (guanxi). Given this, employment contracts in Confucian workplaces are somewhat ambiguous and are considered more so formalities than actual guidelines.

Additionally, Confucian employees may feel obligated to follow not only their explicit roles but also their implicit roles in relationships due to concepts consistent with guanxi and relationship orientation (Luo 1997). For example, Asian employees frequently work overtime, which may not be documented in official work assignments. Although working overtime may create an ambiguity of formal work contracts, Confucians are willing to do so because it is more important for them to maintain a good personal relationship with their supervisors, co-workers, partners, and clients (Keller and Kronstedt 2005). It is this sense of obligation to turn a blind eye to the formal contract and work beyond what is contractually required that results in normative motives. Not only does the Asian employee typically feel that it is in their best interest to maintain and promote good relationships with their superiors, associates, and clients, as is expressed by guanxi, but also that it is necessary to go beyond the stipulations of the contract to do so. In order to reap the most possible benefits from employment and interpersonal relationships in Confucian workplaces, guanxi suggests that Asian employees in both superior and subordinate positions must embrace an ambiguous contract and the consequential normative motive at the workplace (Luo 1997). Namely, relationship orientation leads to ambiguity of contracts, which in turn positively affects employees’ normative motives to work overtime.

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The stronger the relationship orientation, the higher ambiguity of formal contracts, thus resulting in a normative motive for overtime work.

Righteousness Orientation and Affective Motive for Overtime Work

Righteousness-based culture is shaped by the Confucian philosophical lesson Yi (義); humans must do the right things and avoid the wrong things in their lives. As an ethical norm formed by philosophical contemplations toward the righteous human life, people in Confucian cultures believe that they have to faithfully devote their lives and work to do the right thing, which will be potentially beneficial to themselves and their organizations (Chen and Chung 1994). Based on righteousness orientation, Asian employees pursue the perfection of the quality of assigned tasks, which in turn may lead to their affective motives for overtime work.

Confucians traditionally believe that people can innately distinguish between right and wrong, and that it is the responsibility of the individual to make this distinction and use their moral knowledge to be virtuous in their every action (Miles and Goo 2013). This notion forms the basis for the Confucian concept Yi, which dictates that all humans are righteous, faithful, and just in their daily life, and that perfection is attainable but is an ongoing quest (Chen and Chung 1994). Yi guides Confucians and induces them to seek self-cultivation rather than pure material gain through the ongoing pursuit for perfection (Miles and Goo 2013). Merely meeting the minimum criteria is considered neither acceptable nor satisfying to the true Confucian, particularly in a professional setting where the quality of one’s work is considered an extension of oneself. Therefore, most members of Confucian societies are profoundly motivated to attain excellence in every context of daily life.

This intrinsic desire to realize perfection is common among Confucians, yet it is very personal in nature. For the Confucian, a strong sense of individual accomplishment and pride is manifested when one fulfills their designated tasks and exhibits humanistic, upright, and ethical behaviors (Ip 2009b). It is reasonable to suggest that this intimate inclination for perfection is more so affective in essence than it is normative. This is because employees may perceive affective feelings that their efforts to pursue perfection are worthwhile, believing that their hard work will eventually pay off in terms of individual and/or organizational performance. While members of Confucian societies universally value righteousness and perfection, the motivation for virtuous behavior and diligent work ethic is deeply rooted in the individual (Chen and Chung 1994). This penchant for perfection is not about preserving the status quo or adhering to societal norms; rather, it is an emotional drive that is almost instinctual and natural for the Confucian. Personal gratification is derived from producing high-quality outputs, and therefore this pursuit for perfection, resulting from a cultural righteousness orientation, is an affective motive.

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The stronger the righteousness orientation, the higher the pursuit for perfection, thus resulting in an affective motive for overtime work.

Benevolence Orientation and Affective Motive for Overtime Work

Asian employees work longer and harder, and they are willing to sacrifice their personal lives if working overtime is perceived as beneficial to both themselves and their institution. Because of this voluntary intention (Luo 1997), working overtime may not always be viewed as a negative outcome in Asian workplaces. For instance, one study indicated that Asian employees strongly believe that their individual efforts of sacrificing their personal life and working overtime for their organizations became an important foundation for their firms’ success among many competitive Asian companies (Kim and Park 2003).

Benevolence is considered to be a cornerstone of the Confucian lifestyle and one of the key guiding principles of Confucian conduct (Chan 2008). The Chinese term for this concept is Ren (仁), and the Confucian embracing this perspective on social behavior embodies attributes such as perseverance, diligence, and powerful work ethic (Jaw et al. 2007). Much of the time upholding this generous social etiquette comes at great personal sacrifice, a term synonymous with altruism (or loving others), which is a notion understood and accepted by most Confucians as Confucius himself expressed that one can only confirm and enlarge oneself by first enlarging others (Chen and Chung 1994). On this note, this concept of altruism exists conjointly with the commonly held collective beliefs of most East Asian societies. In these collectivist cultures, one identifies more so as part of several groups than they do on an individual level and therefore advancement of these groups’ needs and acquirement of shared goals is of more importance than the sole pursuit of personal desires (Hofstede 1991). In fact, group goals can even be considered harmonious or akin to one’s own goals, and therefore it is not uncommon for Confucians to sacrifice a great deal of their time and energy for the mutual benefit of the members of their in-groups.

Social identity theory may be used to provide a more in-depth explanation.

Social identity suggests that in-group members accentuate the similarities they share with their different social groups, such as a work group for example, and it is through these similarities and group membership that self-categorization and collective goals are derived (Burke and Stets 2000). In social identity theory the personal identity, or the individual, is the lowest level of categorization, and while the individual acts to accomplish his or her own goals, the self-categorized group member considers the group’s goals to be his or her own goals (Burke and Stets 2000). By identifying with the group and achieving the goals of the group, in-group members typically feel a sense of personal accomplishment and self-enhancement (Burke and Stets 2000).

Given this, it is reasonable to suggest that Ren (仁) is very similar to Yi (義) in that both are relatively universal cultural orientations yet are particularly internal drives. In other words, while both perfectionism and benevolence, and in turn altruism (Chan 2008), are values held in high regard by members of Confucian cultures at large, they are actually more intrinsic, intimate motivations. Cultural benevolence orientations are ubiquitous in most Confucian societies and are often complemented by these East Asian cultures’ collectivistic natures. Workgroup members tend to have strong group orientations that highly motivate them to acquire organizational goals even at altruistic costs. As social identification theory suggests (Tajfel and Turner 1979), these group goals can be considered personal given strong feelings of affiliation with the group and feelings of emotional satisfaction derived from achieving desired outcomes. This being so, benevolence orientation can be linked to an affective motive to work overtime because it pushes for the pursuit of collective goals.

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The stronger the benevolence orientation, the higher the pursuit for in-group collective goals, thus resulting in an affective motive for overtime work.

Affective and Normative Motives and Working Overtime

In this section, we discuss how Asian employees’ psychological motives are associated with their overtime work in a Confucian context, based on general management theories (Meyer and Allen 1991). We argue that both employees’ affective and normative motives affect overtime work in conceptually different ways.

First, Asian employees who have affective motives may work overtime because of their intrinsic motivation, which occurs when people are internally motivated to do something because they are either passionate about performing their tasks (Zigarmi et al. 2009) or they feel that what they are learning is significant (Low and Ang 2013). Employees may work hard to solve challenging issues or problems so that they can enjoy the moment of achievement and personal learning, even if it requires working longer than the contractual working hours. For example, some Asian employees may work until midnight and even on weekends, not because of external pressures or punishments, but in order to fulfill individual desires to achieve challenging goals. Furthermore, in a Confucian context based on Yi (義) and Ren (仁), employees may work overtime to demonstrate their intrinsic motivation to go above and beyond contractual obligations (Becchetti et al. 2013). Confucianism, therefore, serves primarily as the basis for the affective motives for overtime work. This motivational process may lead to actual overtime work among employees.

Second, employees who have normative motives may work overtime because of their extrinsic motivation, which comes into play when employees are compelled to do something or act a certain way because of factors external to them (e.g., pressures, punishments, social recognitions, or group conformity). For instance, Asian employees sometimes have to work overtime when their supervisors or other co-workers do not go home after the work day ends. This work situation may create invisible norms that guide desirable or undesirable behavior among employees, and it might be difficult for employees to violate the norms, especially when they are at low hierarchical status within an organization (Robbins and Judge 2013). Normative motives of Asian employees at times may lead to working overtime, which might be interpreted as a symbolic means of differentiating the Confucian worker from other employees based upon Choong (忠) and guanxi (關係). Taken together, it seems to be clear that both affective and normative motives are positively associated with working overtime (Fig. 3).

Fig. 3
figure 3

Conceptual relationships between confusion culture and work overtime in Asian organizations

Full size image

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Affective motives are positively related to working overtime, especially in a Confucian society where there are strong righteousness and benevolence orientations.

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Normative motives are positively related to working overtime, especially in a Confucian society where there are strong seniority and relationship orientations.

Discussion

In this conceptual paper, we argue that Confucian culture plays an important role in working overtime at Asian workplaces. By doing so, we suggest two major contributions to current literature. First, this paper leads us to reach beyond Hofstede’s (1984, 1991) and House et al.’s (2004) cross-cultural frameworks and reconsider national culture from a different angle. Second, we suggest an alternative view regarding how to understand and conceptualize employee motivations for working overtime. Although the connotation of overtime work has been negatively interpreted in the literature (Burke 2009; Fry and Cohen 2009), we suggest that within a cultural context some positive and even productive viewpoints toward working overtime can occur. These include increased employee commitment, higher work quality, and enhanced interpersonal relationships. In the following sections, we further discuss research and practical implications and future research directions.

Research Implications

In spite of years of research on cultural differences and work (Gelfand et al. 2007; Tsui et al. 2007), issues remain. For example, Gelfand et al. (2007) call for research that goes beyond just examining individualism-collectivism. Tsui et al. (2007) call for research that consolidates cultural values. The proposals offered address these concerns.

One of the many goals of the Confucian lifestyle is to strike a harmonious balance between the individual’s professional and personal lives. Oftentimes the Confucian employee derives a feeling of personal satisfaction by putting forth high-quality work, and this frequently comes at the cost of working overtime. At other times, the Confucian employee feels socially and morally obligated to work overtime. The goal of this paper was to suggest several positive perspectives of overtime work despite commonly held negative outcomes of overtime, including turnover on an organizational level and stress, depression, physical health problems, and even suicide on a personal level, particularly in highly competitive cultures that are heavily influenced by Confucianism (Sato et al. 2009).

In this regard, it is once again important to differentiate between Confucianism (i.e., Confucian philosophical value) and Confucian cultural orientation (i.e., shared value among people), especially now that our four orientations have been explicated. One orientation worth paying specific attention to is seniority orientation. The conventional perception of Confucianism is that it encourages “rule by men” rather than rule by law (Angle 2009), and this is because the Confucian ideal society is highly ethical and therefore needs not enforce laws (Chan 2013). This has historically resulted in a political philosophy focused on the cultivation of powerful, moralistic sage rulers rather than the implementation of liberal democratic institutions (Angle 2009). However, by revisiting Li (理), or coherence, which was mentioned earlier, we find that there is theoretical grounding for limitations on rulers, such that they were never owed absolute loyalty (Angle 2009). The Confucian ideal was that virtuous and competent sages or gentlemen (junzi) would be in power, but Confucius himself realized that this ideal was somewhat hopeless given the rarity of these types of individuals (Chan 2013). As a result, rulers were in fact recognized as imperfect people and as such they were expected to heed advice from their counsel given that their counsel’s understanding of coherence was, at times, implicitly better than the emperor’s understanding (Angle 2009). Of course, the emperor could do as he pleased and traditional Confucianism encouraged a practical level of obedience and respect, but it did not encourage blind loyalty (Angle 2009). As explained with examples earlier, cultural orientations emerging from ideologies may at times contrast aspects of their parent philosophies, often due to historical experiences and developments in the region where these philosophies are prominent. Chan (2013) explained that Confucianism is no exception to this, in that it “is a complex tradition of thought that evolved in response to changing historical circumstances” (p. 15). It may be that the incredible hierarchy and loyalty present in Confucian cultures is a byproduct and unintended consequence of Confucianism’s “rule by men” and encouragement of obedience, even though Confucianism itself did not promote absolute loyalty. As with the earlier example discussing Confucianism’s emphasis on individual effort and forgiveness, there might have been unintended consequences during the process of converting the philosophical value (i.e., Confucianism) into the shared value (i.e., Confucian culture).

Nonetheless, there are several positive aspects of overtime, and it is important for researchers to understand that an adequate balance of work and life is essential in order to monopolize on work-related Confucian values. For instance, Confucian values such as benevolence and righteousness are heavily related to concepts consistent with altruism and perfectionism. These two affective motives directly influence the quality and quantity of work output, proving beneficial to the organization as a whole. Other values such as relationship orientation and seniority orientation can be directly related to Confucian guanxi and loyalty, both of which stress individual roles and the relationships existing therein as dictated by a hierarchal social structure. As such, normative motives are the products of these orientations, and these motives are beneficial to the individual as they result in interpersonal relationships that can be used as leverage in times of need.

There are both benefits and drawbacks to overtime work, particularly in Confucian cultures where overtime is prevalent. Though overtime work can have adverse effects including stress, health problems, and the like, many positive outcomes have been evidenced. Personal satisfaction can be obtained by altruistically working to promote collective goals, produce quality work, strengthen relationships, and honor traditional Asian values, while organizational success is simultaneously acquired. The key to a successful Confucian-based organization is the knowledge of where to strike the balance between work and life and ensuring that employees are aware of and capable of maintaining this balancing act.

Practical Implications

Western organizations know little of Asian cultural ethics yet they are increasingly employing East Asian employees and doing business in East Asia. In order to create the most effective global organization involving both Eastern and Western employees, executives of Western organizations need to develop a cognitive understanding of East Asian work culture. Though this may seem like a trivial cultural matter to some executives, it will in fact have a substantial impact on the organization’s bottom line. Cultural synergy, or essentially the harmonious integration of cultural differences in a given organization, is dire for the globalized organization to attain optimal performance, and therefore Western companies that employ East Asian employees must develop an understanding of Confucian values (as they pertain to work) and implement an organizational culture that promotes human resource (HR) policies and norms that embrace Eastern and Western integration. This speaks to Gelfand et al.’s (2007) call for more research that examines the “cross cultural interface” (p.497).

Western organizations are not the only ones that can benefit by developing an understanding of Confucianism and its influence on organizational behavior. Eastern organizations can also benefit substantially by developing their employees’ understanding of Confucian work ethics as many Asian workers do not even realize why they deliberately work overtime. Confucian ethics are oftentimes so internalized in the Asian employee that he or she does not even objectively evaluate his or her behavior and its impact on the organization. Management employing members of the Asian workforce should take into consideration the implications of this behavioral research and use it in their practice to develop their employees’ understandings of their own Confucian-based values as it may allow these employees to centralize their focus on the positive outcomes of their workplace behaviors.

Unfortunately, the Asian employee may have a tendency to look solely at the negative aspects of overtime, in turn leading to counterproductive behavior and turnover, which were mentioned earlier. However, if Eastern organizations can provide their workforce with an understanding of their own Confucian-based motives and create an organizational culture that embraces these motives, then they can highlight the aforementioned positive aspects of overtime. This, in turn, would allow Asian organizations and employees to find a meaningful way to increase productivity while managing a work and life balance. If the organization can internalize the Confucian values that result in positive outcomes and behaviors on an individual level then they can provide employees with an approach to their work that allows these employees to look beyond some of the negative aspects of overtime and find a more meaningful value in their professional lives.

Limitations and Future Research

It is impossible to encompass every cultural orientation pervading Confucianism within this article. This is because Confucianism is a Chinese cultural philosophy that has existed for over two millennia and has profoundly evolved over consecutive generations. This being so, the proposals in this paper were limited to specific cultural dimensions considered most relevant to the theoretical argument. Future research on the relationship between Confucianism and overtime may expand to include other cultural orientations evidenced by literature on the subject. Other Chinese cultural orientations that we have found within Confucianism include an emphasis on education and long-term frugality (Ackerman et al. 2009). Confucius himself expressed that all individuals ought to have the right to education without fear of discrimination, and he even went on to contest that ethical teachings should be integrated into the academic curriculum (Chen and Chung 1994). Also the frugality of most Confucians is conducive to the typical long-term orientations present in most East Asian cultures and may be a factor in the rapid economic expansion of East Asian nations (Ackerman et al. 2009).

As already mentioned in brief, traditional Confucian values have evolved over the centuries due to different generations and increasing globalization. In more recent times, which have been characterized by incredibly high levels of cultural integration, assimilation, communication aided by technology, and globalization, Confucianism and its consequential social and moral values have been Westernized, especially for the younger generation. Increasing globalization has resulted in amplified interactions between people across cultures, leading to changes in cultural values and underlying social philosophies. Further research on overtime motives in Confucian cultures should focus on the gaps between older and younger generations and how this has impacted overtime culture. Quite obviously, Confucian values, traditions, and interpretations will vary by generation, particularly in the current age of information, and how this influences overtime culture can provide the basis for further research.

Though this is a conceptual paper, the proposals lay the groundwork for empirical studies. Empirical research studies may test the explanations of Confucian overtime behavior provided in this conceptual paper by investigating through observation and/or field study. This would allow researchers to learn more about cultural affective and normative motives and their consequences on overtime behavior in Confucian cultures, and bona fide empirical evidence can be used to supplement or adjust our theory. In addition, studies that consider the individual, group, and organizational level could help to further explore the context of overtime behavior. Given the information provided in Confucian and management literature, it is likely that this conceptual argument is a strong basis for further studies.

Conclusion

From this study, we expect that management researchers can obtain a better understanding of the unique Chinese cultural philosophy, Confucianism. We also showed a possibility to study national culture in more specific regions by expanding the current cross-cultural frameworks. Finally, we hope that our research effort on Confucian cultural ethic and its associations with other managerial outcomes and theories is a small cornerstone that allows management researchers to explore interesting and meaningful ways to apply Confucian ethics and orientations in the workplace.