Is Electronic Multitasking Always Viewed as a Counterproductive Meeting Behavior? Understanding the Nature of the Secondary Task.

This project explored social evaluations of electronic multitasking during work meetings, including factors that may affect whether it is seen as a counterproductive meeting behavior. We used an experimental vignette design to test whether social evaluations (norm violating, agency, and communalism) of a hypothetical coworker's electronic multitasking differed by whether the secondary task was relevant to the meeting (Study 1; N = 274) or ambiguous (Study 2; N = 188). Observers evaluated task-irrelevant multitasking as more of a norm violation and less communal compared to task-relevant multitasking, and work-related tasks were evaluated as more agentic than nonwork-related tasks. Ambiguous tasks were also rated as more agentic than task-irrelevant multitasking. Taken together, our results show that the nature of the secondary task reduces negative perceptions of coworkers' electronic multitasking behavior during meetings. However, electronic multitasking for any purpose, even if relevant, was generally judged negatively consistent with expectations for a counterproductive meeting behavior.

Time to Disentangle the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Constructs: Developing a Taxonomy around ICT Use for Occupational Health Research.

The use of information and communication technology (ICT) in the workplace has gained considerable research attention in the occupational health field due to its effects on employee stress and well-being. Consequently, new ICT-related constructs have proliferated in occupational health research, resulting in a need to take stock of both potential redundancies and deficiencies in the current measures. This paper disentangles ICT-related constructs, developing a taxonomy of ICT-related constructs in terms of ICT demands, resources, motivation, use, and strains. We then integrate this taxonomy with stress and motivation theories to identify three key implications for ICT and workplace health research and practices in terms of providing suggestions on understudied areas for building better theories, highlighting important psychometric issues for building better constructs and measures, and offering recommendations for building better interventions. This review aims to serve as a guide for researchers to move forward with the current state of research and provide recommendations for organizations in terms of both potential repercussions and best practices for ICT use in the workplace.

Comparing Relaxation Versus Mastery Microbreak Activity: A Within-Task Recovery Perspective.

Recovery from work is generally thought to occur outside of the workplace. However, employees may also have the opportunity to recover within the work day via microbreaks during demanding work tasks. Two major strategies for mitigating fatigue include psychological detachment (i.e., mentally disengaging) and replenishing motivational incentives via positive affect. This study examined whether 40-s "microbreaks" improve work recovery and to what extent different microbreak content (mastery vs. relaxation activities) boost performance. Using an experimental study, we randomly assigned individuals to receive a relaxation microbreak (n = 59), a mastery microbreak (n = 68), or no break (n = 72) in the middle of a monotonous work task and assessed work performance. Microbreaks improved task performance and within-task recovery, but only for psychological detachment (not positive affect). Mastery breaks also resulted in more psychological detachment than relaxation breaks, but this increased detachment did not explain performance differences between break types. These results build on existing recovery theories by further demonstrating within-task recovery and provide practical implications for organizations to consider the importance of microbreaks.

Disconnecting to detach: the role of impaired recovery in negative consequences of workplace telepressure / Desconectar para desvincularse: el papel de la mala recuperación en las consecuencias negativas de la telepresión en el trabajo

Information and communication technologies (ICT) afford benefits in staying connected and increasing work flexibility for employees; however, they also bring us negative behavioral and psychological outcomes. This research examines the potential consequences of workplace telepressure, referring to the preoccupation with and urge to respond quickly to work-related ICT messages, on employee physical and psychological outcomes and the intervening roles of psychological detachment and boundary-crossing behaviors. A sample of 233 full-time workers from an online survey panel completed an online questionnaire. We observed bivariate relationships between workplace telepressure and health outcomes (i.e., employee burnout, poor sleep quality), psychological detachment, and boundary crossing. Bootstrapped indirect effects analyses showed that only boundary crossing provided a viable pathway by which workplace telepressure was associated with physical fatigue, poor sleep quality, and low sleep quantity. Implications of the intervening role of boundary crossing and the relationships between workplace telepressure and negative health outcomes are discussed

Las tecnologías de información y comunicación (TIC) ofrecen las ventajas de estar conectados y aumentar la flexibilidad laboral de los empleados, aunque tienen consecuencias conductuales y psicológicas negativas. Esta investigación analiza las consecuencias que tiene la telepresión, referida a la preocupación y urgencia en responder rápidamente a mensajes relativos al trabajo (utilizando las TIC), sobre el desempeño físico y psicológico de los trabajadores y sobre el papel intermediario que juegan la desvinculación psicológica y el cruzar los límites del trabajo. Se pasó un cuestionario en línea a 233 trabajadores a tiempo completo. Observamos las relaciones bivariadas de la telepresión y sus consecuencias en la salud (por ejemplo, agotamiento emocional o mala calidad del sueño), el desapego psicológico y el franqueo de los límites del trabajo. Los análisis de bootstrap de los efectos indirectos mostraron que solo el franqueo de estos límites constituye un camino válido para asociar la telepresión con la fatiga física, la mala calidad de sueño y dormir poco. Se discuten las implicaciones del papel interventor que tiene el cruzar los límites del trabajo y sus relaciones entre la telepresión y las consecuencias negativas para la salud

Workplace telepressure and work-life balance outcomes: The role of work recovery experiences.

Workplace technology has posed some challenges to worker well-being. This research examined how workplace telepressure-a preoccupation and urge to respond quickly to message-based communications-is related to work life balance evaluations, as well as how work recovery experiences might explain this relationship. Using an online survey design, Study 1 (N = 254) and Study 2 (N = 409) demonstrated that employees' workplace telepressure negatively related to satisfaction with work-life balance. Study 1 showed that psychological detachment may explain the relationship between workplace telepressure and satisfaction with work-life balance. In Study 2, psychological detachment and control over leisure time explained the relationship between workplace telepressure and global evaluations of work-life balance (satisfaction and effectiveness). Mastery and control experiences explained the relationship between workplace telepressure and work-family enrichment. Lastly, three recovery mechanisms (detachment, relaxation, and control) explained the link between workplace telepressure and work-family conflict. The evidence suggests that workplace telepressure is negatively associated with various employee evaluations of work-life balance, but the role of recovery experiences may depend on how work-life balance is measured.

Workplace intrusions and employee strain: the interactive effects of extraversion and emotional stability.

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Intrusions are a type of workplace interruption defined as unexpected interpersonal contact that disrupts workflow. Drawing from the Job Demands-Resources model of work stress, we examined how two personal resources - extraversion and emotional stability - influence relations among intrusions and strain outcomes. DESIGN/METHODOLOGY: Self-reported, online questionnaire data were collected from two samples; 323 faculty and staff from a university (sample 1) and 574 full-time employees recruited from an online crowdsourcing forum (sample 2). RESULTS: In sample 1 extraversion was positively related to intrusions, whereas in sample 2, extraversion and emotional stability were negatively related to intrusions. There were no interactive effects of personality on relations among intrusions and strain outcomes in sample 1. In sample 2, low emotional stability strengthened relations among intrusions and work tension. Additionally, intrusions were negatively associated with stress for individuals high on emotional stability. Finally, introverts experienced less stress in response to intrusions. CONCLUSION: Taking a person-situation interactionist approach, we examined personal resources that may mitigate interruption-related strain. Our findings suggest that for employees high in emotional stability, interruptions may be both less detrimental and, in some cases, beneficial. This study has practical implications for the structuring of work environments to mitigate strain and maximize person-environment fit.

Development and validation of the Workplace Interruptions Measure.

In 3 studies, we developed and tested the first comprehensive, self-report measure of workplace interruptions. The Workplace Interruptions Measure (WIM) is based on a typology of interruptions that included intrusions, distractions, discrepancy detections, and breaks. The four-factor structure was reduced to a 12-item measure in Study 1 (N = 317) and confirmed in a diverse sample of employees in Study 2 (N = 160). Study 3 (N = 323) further examined the psychometric properties of the WIM in a sample of university faculty and staff. Studies 2 and 3 demonstrated that both effort-enhancing interruptions (intrusions, distractions, and discrepancy detections) and recovery-enhancing interruptions (breaks) were associated with stressors and strains. Distractions, discrepancy detections, and breaks uniquely predicted strain outcomes beyond other workplace stressors (i.e., quantitative workload, interpersonal conflict, and role conflict). We discuss implications of the WIM for the theory and practice of interruptions research.

A self-regulatory perspective of work-to-home undermining spillover/crossover: Examining the roles of sleep and exercise.

Research demonstrating that employees who are undermined at work engage in similar behavior at home suggests this connection reflects displaced aggression. In contrast, the present study draws on self-regulation theory to examine the work-home undermining spillover/crossover process. We propose that poor sleep quality transmits the influence of workplace undermining to home undermining per self-regulatory impairment, and exercise moderates this indirect effect per self-regulatory improvement. Using matched data from 118 employees and a member of their household to test our model, results demonstrated that undermining experienced from supervisors increased subjective (i.e., self-reported) but not objective (i.e., actigraph-recorded) sleep difficulties, which, in turn, increased the frequency with which individuals engaged in undermining at home (as reported by cohabitants). Additionally, indirect effects occurred for employees with low but not high levels of physical exercise (as measured by self-reports, step counts, and energy expenditure). Our findings suggest sleep and exercise may serve as valuable intervention points to prevent the spread of harmful behavior across contexts. Implications for theory and practice are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record

Ethical considerations for sleep intervention in organizational psychology research.

Over the past several years, interest into the role of sleep in the workplace has grown. The theoretical shift from research questions examining sleep as an outcome to placing sleep as the independent variable has increased experimental approaches to manipulating sleep in organizational studies. This is an exciting trend that is likely to continue in the organizational sciences. However, sleep experimentation can also pose special challenges for organizational researchers unaccustomed to sleep science. In this commentary, I discuss five ethical considerations of conducting negative sleep interventions in organizational psychology research. I also provide recommendations for organizational researchers-or even other researchers in disciplines outside of sleep science-who wish to implement sleep interventions in their studies.

Modifying the Sleep Treatment Education Program for Students to include technology use (STEPS-TECH): Intervention effects on objective and subjective sleep outcomes.

University students often have sleep issues that arise from poor sleep hygiene practices and technology use patterns. Yet, technology-related behaviors are often neglected in sleep hygiene education. This study examined whether the Sleep Treatment Education Program for Students-modified to include information regarding managing technology use (STEPS-TECH)-helps improve both subjective and objective sleep outcomes among university students. Results of an experimental study among 78 university students showed improvements in objective indicators of sleep quantity (total sleep time) and sleep quality (less awakenings) during the subsequent week for students in the STEPS-TECH intervention group compared to a control group. Exploratory analyses indicated that effects were driven by improvements in weekend days immediately following the intervention. There were also no intervention effects on subjective sleep quality or quantity outcomes. In terms of self-reported behavioral responses to educational content in the intervention, there were no group differences in sleep hygiene practices or technology use before bedtime. However, the intervention group reported less technology use during sleep periods than the control group. These preliminary findings suggest that STEPS-TECH may be a useful educational tool to help improve objective sleep and reduce technology use during sleep periods among university students.

Telepressure and College Student Employment: The Costs of Staying Connected Across Social Contexts.

Telepressure is a psychological state consisting of the preoccupation and urge to respond quickly to message-based communications from others. Telepressure has been linked with negative stress and health outcomes, but the existing measure focuses on experiences specific to the workplace. The current study explores whether an adapted version of the workplace telepressure measure is relevant to general social interactions that rely on information and communication technologies. We validated a general telepressure measure in a sample of college students and found psychometric properties similar to the original workplace measure. Also, general telepressure was related to, but distinct from, the fear of missing out, self-control and technology use. Using a predictive validity design, we also found that telepressure at the beginning of the semester was related to student reports of burnout, perceived stress and poor sleep hygiene 1 month later (but not work-life balance or general life satisfaction). Moreover, telepressure was more strongly related to more negative outcomes (burnout, stress and poor sleep hygiene) and less positive outcomes (work-life balance and life satisfaction) among employed compared with non-employed students. Thus, the costs of staying connected to one's social network may be more detrimental to college students with additional employment obligations. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Psychologically detaching despite high workloads: The role of attentional processes.

Although psychologically detaching from work is beneficial for employee well-being and productivity, heavy workloads can interfere with detachment. Drawing from the self-regulation literature, we expand the stressor-detachment model to explore 2 attentional factors that shape the workload-detachment relationship: dispositional self-control-defined as a trait ability to regulate thoughts and behavior-and a daily planning intervention designed to direct attention away from incomplete work goals. Overall, we hypothesized that the ability to control and redirect attention is crucial for detaching from high workloads. Using an experimental daily diary design with 103 employees, we replicated previous results that daily workload is negatively associated with daily psychological detachment. However, this relationship was nonsignificant for individuals high on dispositional self-control and those that completed the planning intervention. We also observed a 3-way interaction, where the planning intervention was only effective for individuals low on dispositional self-control because employees high on self-control were naturally better at detaching from high workloads. Overall, these results illustrate the theoretical and practical utility of an attention-based perspective on detachment processes, including a simple intervention for helping individuals detach at home despite high workloads. (PsycINFO Database Record

Home is Private Do Not Enter! Introversion and Sensitivity to Work-Home Conflict.

This study examined extraversion as a moderator of the relationship between negative work-home conflict and stress-related outcomes among US employees using conservation of resources theory and privacy regulation theory. Introverts only experienced stronger negative effects of negative work-home conflict on work-related resource depletion (job burnout, low engagement, low satisfaction with balance) rather than general resource depletion (personal burnout) and strain (physical and psychological). This finding suggests that introverts selectively withdraw from the work domain to conserve resources when privacy at home is threatened. Employers may want to consider ways to help introverts increase work-home segmentation, such as reducing workplace norms that encourage employees to be continuously accessible. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

The Work-Family Interface as a Mediator between Job Demands and Employee Behaviour.

In this investigation, we draw from the job demands-resource model and conservation of resources theory to examine the relationship between job demands, the work-family interface and worker behaviours. Data collected from an online survey of workers revealed that hindrance demands indirectly increase interpersonal and organizational deviance through work interference with family and family interference with work. Challenge demands indirectly predict interpersonal and organizational deviance through work interference with family. Finally, hindrance demands indirectly decreased individual-directed organizational citizenship behaviours through work-to-family enrichment. Taken together, these results stress the relevance of job demand management and resource drain/acquisition to counterproductive and extra-role behaviours.

Please respond ASAP: workplace telepressure and employee recovery.

Organizations rely heavily on asynchronous message-based technologies (e.g., e-mail) for the purposes of work-related communications. These technologies are primary means of knowledge transfer and building social networks. As a by-product, workers might feel varying levels of preoccupations with and urges for responding quickly to messages from clients, coworkers, or supervisors--an experience we label as workplace telepressure. This experience can lead to fast response times and thus faster decisions and other outcomes initially. However, research from the stress and recovery literature suggests that the defining features of workplace telepressure interfere with needed work recovery time and stress-related outcomes. The present set of studies defined and validated a new scale to measure telepressure. Study 1 tested an initial pool of items and found some support for a single-factor structure after problematic items were removed. As expected, public self-consciousness, techno-overload, and response expectations were moderately associated with telepressure in Study 1. Study 2 demonstrated that workplace telepressure was distinct from other personal (job involvement, affective commitment) and work environment (general and ICT work demands) factors and also predicted burnout (physical and cognitive), absenteeism, sleep quality, and e-mail responding beyond those factors. Implications for future research and workplace practices are discussed.

Using the Networked Fire Chief for ego-depletion research: measuring dynamic decision-making effort and performance.

This study replicated ego-depletion predictions from the self-control literature in a computer simulation task that requires ongoing decision-making in relation to constantly changing environmental information: the Network Fire Chief (NFC). Ego-depletion led to decreased self-regulatory effort, but not performance, on the NFC task. These effects were also buffered by task enjoyment so that individuals who enjoyed the dynamic decision-making task did not experience ego-depletion effects. These findings confirm that past ego-depletion effects on decision-making are not limited to static or isolated decision-making tasks and can be extended to dynamic, naturalistic decision-making processes more common to naturalistic settings. Furthermore, the NFC simulation provides a methodological mechanism for independently measuring effort and performance when studying ego-depletion.