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Description
In the workplace, it has become increasingly common for people to talk about how busy they are. These busyness expressions and the perceptions surrounding them have received some empirical attention but have not been studied in depth. My thesis takes an inductive, exploratory approach, laying groundwork for what we can learn by studying busyness expressions. I developed the Busyness Expression Interpretation Scale (BEIS) to understand how employees interpret the busyness expressions of those around them. Recruitment via social networking sites, such as Facebook and Linkedin yielded 293 responses that were retained for data analysis. Participants completed a survey distributed via Qualtrics. The survey included the BEIS, as well as measures of public self-consciousness, impression management, work values, job insecurity, subjective job stress, burnout, employee engagement, and job satisfaction. A series of exploratory factor analyses assessed the factor structure of the BEIS, resulting in the removal of five items and partially supporting a three-factor structure of the BEIS, assessing achievement, social, and security interpretation tendencies. Confirmatory factor analysis established the discriminant validity of the BEIS from conceptually related constructs (public self-consciousness, impression management, and work values). Correlations demonstrated significant positive relationships between the BEIS and subjective job stress and burnout, as well as some significant negative relationships between the BEIS and job satisfaction and employee engagement. Participants’ reported frequency of busyness expressions from coworkers and supervisors also demonstrated significant relationships with stress and burnout. Hierarchical regressions demonstrated that the BEIS explains incremental variance over simple frequency in predicting job stress and burnout. The results of these analyses shed light on how busyness expressions in the workplace relate to employees’ well-being. Those who are exposed more to others using busyness expressions may experience more severe stress burnout. How employees interpret busyness expressions provide further insight into how busyness expressions can influence well-being in the form of stress, job satisfaction, engagement, and burnout. Furthermore, the BEIS itself offers an avenue for understanding how busyness expressions operate. Its three- factor structure shows promise but needs to be developed further.
