Working Time Fragmentation of Chinese Scientific Researchers and it’s Influencing Factors

科研人员工作时间碎片化及其影响因素

Abstract

Working time fragmentation is a common challenge faced by scientific researchers. However, this question has not drawn enough attention from researchers. What is the current situation of working time fragmentation of scientific researchers in China? What are the main factors influencing their working hours to be fragmented? Based on a nationwide sample survey data, this paper analyzes the current situation and influencing factors of the fragmentation of working hours of researchers in China by using the methods of descriptive analysis and OLS regression analysis. The results show that researchers in China have a strong perception of work time fragmentation. Personal characteristics such as gender, age and time management ability; social role characteristics such as work-family relationship, administrative position and professional title; and work characteristics such as work unit type, working hours and work autonomy have a significant impact on the work time fragmentation of researchers. Specifically, men, older researchers and those with lower time management ability have higher level of working time fragmentation. The more balanced the work-family relationship leads to a lower degree of fragmentation of working hours. Administrative positions and professional titles are positively correlated with the degree of time fragmentation. The degree of time fragmentation of scientific researchers in colleges and universities is significantly higher than that in other work units. The average daily working hours are positively correlated with the degree of time fragmentation, while the work autonomy is negatively correlated with the degree of time fragmentation. Finally, based on the research and analysis, the paper puts forward some policy suggestions to reduce the fragmentation of working time.