Working from home during COVID-19: A study of the interruption landscape.

We examine how the shift toward intensive work-from-home during the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has impacted the experience of interruptions during work time. We conducted a two-wave survey of 249 employees working from home during the COVID-19 pandemic. Building on a conceptual framework and typology (Leroy et al., 2020), we examine changes in the prevalence of interruptions since-COVID-19 as a function of interruption type (intrusions, distractions, breaks, multitasking, and surprises), source (work-based vs. nonwork), and timing (pre- vs. since-COVID-19). We find a large increase in interruptions since-COVID, with the largest increases observed for nonwork intrusions, distractions, and multitasking. Women reported a greater increase in interruptions, particularly with regard to nonwork interruptions of all types, in addition to work-based intrusions, multitasking, and surprises, uncovering an important source of gender inequity. A dedicated unshared workspace at home was associated with fewer nonwork interruptions, while more nonwork responsibilities predicted more nonwork interruptions. Further differentiation of interruption types and sources was observed with regard to outcomes of interruptions. Nonwork interruptions predicted higher family-to-work interference, emotional exhaustion, and lower performance. Notably, these relationships varied meaningfully across specific interruption-type/outcome combinations, highlighting the value of differentiating interruptions by type. Work-based interruptions-especially intrusions and multitasking-were associated with higher work-family interference and emotional exhaustion, as well as lower performance. The results of this study provide valuable insights to help understand and, ultimately, improve work experiences in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic while also contributing to the broader literatures on interruptions and remote work. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Efficient proximal resource allocation strategies predict distal team performance: Evidence from the National Hockey League.

To achieve long-term goals, individuals, teams, and organizations must engage in numerous short-term performance episodes. This creates a trade-off between proximal and distal performance. On the one hand, allocating resources toward an episode typically facilitates performance in that episode, thereby contributing to distal success. On the other hand, allocating resources to one episode leaves fewer resources for subsequent episodes, thereby inhibiting distal success. We drew upon self-regulatory theories to predict that the trade-off between proximal and distal concerns is managed by allocating resources according to the demands of the situation. Specifically, we predicted that the tendency to allocate resources according to goal-performance discrepancies would improve distal performance. We tested our hypotheses using data from 5 National Hockey League (NHL) seasons. As expected, NHL teams used goal-performance discrepancies to allocate a key resource-playing time of their most valuable players. More importantly, between-team variance in resource allocation strategy accounted for significant variance in distal performance (end of season record). These results provide evidence that strategic reductions in resource allocation to proximal performance episodes is a fundamental self-regulatory process necessary for facilitating long-term success. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).

State-level goal orientations as mediators of the relationship between time pressure and performance: a longitudinal study.

Goal orientations-the degree to which individuals are concerned with developing new skills, demonstrating already developed skills, and avoiding appearing foolish or incompetent-have been repeatedly shown to be important individual difference variables for performance across a range of contexts. In the current study, we identified perceptions of time pressure as a predictor of state goal orientations. Specifically, we posited that developing new skills may be conceived of as somewhat of a luxury-that is, mastery-oriented behaviors-are more likely to emerge when one is not under time pressure. On the other hand, when perceptions of time pressure increase, we expected individuals to be less willing to invest in development and instead to adopt more avoidant goals. Support for these predictions was found in a sample of undergraduate statistics students who were followed over the course of a 15-week academic semester. Specifically, perceptions of time pressure were negatively related to state mastery goal orientation and positively related to state performance-avoid goal orientation. Also, state goal orientations mediated the relationship between time pressure and performance. We conclude with a discussion of the implications of our results for motivational theory as well as how organizations can use the current results to mitigate the potentially detrimental effects of time pressure on performance.

Feedback and the rationing of time and effort among competing tasks.

The study described here tested a model of how characteristics of the feedback environment influence the allocation of resources (time and effort) among competing tasks. Results demonstrated that performers invest more resources on tasks for which higher quality (more timely and more specific) feedback is available; this effect was partially mediated by task salience and task expectancies. Feedback timing and feedback specificity demonstrated both main and interaction effects on resource allocations. Results also demonstrated that performers do better on tasks for which higher quality feedback is available; this effect was mediated by resources allocated to tasks. The practical and theoretical implications of the role of the feedback environment in managing performance are discussed.

A formal, computational theory of multiple-goal pursuit: integrating goal-choice and goal-striving processes.

Understanding the processes involved when pursuing multiple goals over time is a central question for motivational theorists. A dynamic, computational model integrating theories of goal striving and goal choice is presented to account for data emerging from Schmidt and DeShon's (2007) multiple-goal-pursuit protocol. The simulated results match the results reported in their study, including the finding that relative discrepancy from the goals positively predicted resource allocation early on but negatively predicted it toward the end of the session. Variance in parameters in the model also accounted for individual differences found in the data. Discussion focuses on the theoretical contribution of formally integrating elements of self-regulation theories, further empirical work needed to test the model, and further theoretical work needed to continue the integration process exemplified here.

The moderating effects of performance ambiguity on the relationship between self-efficacy and performance.

Recent research (e.g., Vancouver & Kendall, 2006; Vancouver, Thompson, Tischner, & Putka, 2002; Vancouver, Thompson, & Williams, 2001) has challenged the conventional view of self-efficacy as a positive influence on performance, finding a negative within-person relationship between self-efficacy and performance. In the current study, performance ambiguity is examined as a potential boundary condition for this negative self-efficacy effect. As hypothesized, self-efficacy was negatively related to subsequent performance under conditions of high ambiguity but was positively related to performance when performance ambiguity was low. Additionally, the study evaluates key mediating processes underlying the relationship between self-efficacy and performance, finding support for the role of performance perceptions and effort allocation. The results of this study help to establish the scope of the phenomenon and suggest potential means of inhibiting the negative self-efficacy effects.

Self-regulation at work.

Self-regulation at work is conceived in terms of within-person processes that occur over time. These processes are proposed to occur within a hierarchical framework of negative feedback systems that operate at different levels of abstraction and with different time cycles. Negative feedback systems respond to discrepancies in a manner that reduces deviations from standards (i.e., goals). This is in contrast to positive feedback systems in which discrepancies are created, which can lead to instability. We organize our discussion around four hierarchical levels-self, achievement task, lower-level task action, and knowledge/working memory. We theorize that these levels are loosely connected by multiple constraints and that both automatic and more conscious processes are essential to self-regulation. Within- and cross-level affective and cognitive processes interact within this system to motivate goal-related behaviors while also accessing needed knowledge and protecting current intentions from interference. Complications common in the work setting (as well as other complex, real-life settings) such as the simultaneous pursuit of multiple goals, the importance of knowledge access and expertise, and team and multiperson processes are also discussed. Finally, we highlight the usefulness of newer research methodologies and data-analytic techniques for examining such hierarchical, dynamic, within-person processes.

Something's got to give: the effects of dual-goal difficulty, goal progress, and expectancies on resource allocation.

The current study developed and tested a model of the interplay among goal difficulty, goal progress, and expectancy over time in influencing resource allocation toward competing demands. The results provided broad support for the theoretical model. As predicted, dual-goal expectancy-the perceived likelihood of meeting both goals in competition-played a central role, moderating the relationship between relative goal progress and resource allocation. Dual-goal difficulty was also found to exert an important influence on multiple-goal self-regulation. Although it did not influence total productivity across both tasks combined, it did combine with other model components to influence the relative emphasis of one task over another. These results suggest that the cumulative demands placed by multiple difficult goals may exceed individuals' perceived capabilities and may lead to partial or total abandonment of 1 goal to ensure attainment of the other. The model helps shed light on some of the conflicting theoretical propositions and empirical results obtained in prior work. Implications for theory and research regarding multiple-goal self-regulation are discussed.

A matter of time: individual differences, contextual dynamics, and goal progress effects on multiple-goal self-regulation.

The authors examined contextual dynamics and individual differences as moderators of the relationship between goal-performance discrepancies and time allocation among competing demands. As hypothesized, a complex 3-way interaction was observed among environmental volatility, relative progress, and time on resource allocation. When goal progress was determined only by the performers' actions (low environmental volatility), greater time was allocated to the least discrepant goal early on and to the most discrepant goal toward the end of available time. In contrast, when goal progress was also influenced by unpredictable external factors (high environmental volatility), greater time was allocated to the most discrepant goal early on and to the least discrepant goal as the deadline neared. Individual differences in goal orientation further influenced this relationship within a volatile context, with these relationships also varying across time. Under such conditions, those with a strong mastery orientation allocated more time to toward the most discrepant task, whereas those with a strong avoidance orientation allocated more time to the goal closest to being attained. The implications for theory and research on dynamic time allocation are discussed.

The role of feedback, casual attributions, and self-efficacy in goal revision.

An important issue in work motivation is how, when, and why individuals revise their goals up or down over time. In the current study, the authors examine feedback, causal attributions, and self-efficacy in this process. Although self-efficacy has frequently been suggested as a key explanatory variable for goal revision, its role has yet to be directly evaluated. Additionally, although attributions have been shown to influence goal revision following failure, the extent to which attributions influence goal revision following success remains unclear. In the current study, the authors address these issues by experimentally manipulating goal progress via performance feedback and tracking the resulting changes in self-efficacy and goal revision over time. In so doing, the authors also address several interpretive ambiguities present in the existing research. Results support the hypothesized model, finding that performance feedback and attributions interactively influenced self-efficacy, which in turn influenced goal revision. These results suggest that interventions targeting attributions, and self-efficacy more directly, may have meaningful influences on goal setting and pursuit, particularly following feedback.

What to do? The effects of discrepancies, incentives, and time on dynamic goal prioritization.

This study examined factors that influence the dynamic pursuit of multiple goals over time. As hypothesized, goal-performance discrepancies were significantly related to subsequent time allocation. Greater distance from a given goal resulted in greater time subsequently allocated to that goal. In addition, the incentives offered for goal attainment determined the relative influence of discrepancies for each goal. When the incentives for each goal were equivalent, progress toward each goal exhibited equal influence, with greater time allocated to whichever goal was furthest from completion at the time. However, with an incentive available for only 1 of the 2 goals, time allocation was largely determined by progress toward the rewarded goal. Likewise, when incentives for each task differed in their approach-avoidance framing, progress toward the avoidance-framed goal was a stronger predictor of subsequent allocation than was progress toward the approach-framed goal. Finally, the influence of goal-performance discrepancies differed as a function of the time remaining for goal pursuit. The implications for future work on dynamic goal prioritization and the provision of performance incentives are discussed.

A multiple-goal, multilevel model of feedback effects on the regulation of individual and team performance.

When working as a member of a team, individuals must make decisions concerning the allocation of resources (e.g., effort) toward individual goals and team goals. As a result, individual and team goals, and feedback related to progress toward these goals, should be potent levers for affecting resource allocation decisions. This research develops a multilevel, multiple-goal model of individual and team regulatory processes that affect the allocation of resources across individual and team goals resulting in individual and team performance. On the basis of this model, predictions concerning the impact of individual and team performance feedback are examined empirically to evaluate the model and to understand the influence of feedback on regulatory processes and resource allocation. Two hundred thirty-seven participants were randomly formed into 79 teams of 3 that performed a simulated radar task that required teamwork. Results support the model and the predicted role of feedback in affecting the allocation of resources when individuals strive to accomplish both individual and team goals.

Climate perceptions matter: a meta-analytic path analysis relating molar climate, cognitive and affective states, and individual level work outcomes.

Although workplace climate has been extensively studied, the research has not led to firm conclusions as to its relationship with individual level work outcomes. The authors used C. Ostroff's (1993) taxonomy to organize dimensions labeled as workplace climate and then used meta-analytic techniques to test a path analytic model. The model posited that climate affects individual level outcomes through its impact on underlying cognitive and affective states. An extensive literature search yielded 51 empirical studies with 70 samples. The results suggest that the 3 higher order facets of climate (affective, cognitive, and instrumental) affected individual level outcomes of job performance, psychological well-being, and withdrawal through their impact on organizational commitment and job satisfaction.