Boss Quality and Employee Work Intensity: Evidence from Europe and the United States

How does boss quality relate to the work intensity of subordinates? Bridging research on the antecedents of work intensity and the consequences of boss quality, we analyze this relationship using data from the 2015 European Working Conditions Survey and longitudinal data from the 2015/2018 American Working Conditions Survey. In cross-sectional, pooled, and panel analyses, we find robust evidence of a negative association between boss quality and employee work intensity. This association is substantially more negative in contexts in which supervisory discretion is likely to be greater—particularly in organizations that are small, in the private sector, and without employee representation.