Description
Multitasking ability is one of the most highly demanded job requirements in the contemporary world of work. Though ability in multitasking behavior is beneficial, this is not the same as the preference for that behavior, which is called polychronicity. As an individual difference variable, polychronicity refers to the extent to which individuals prefer to move between various tasks within a certain time block. Although some have argued that behaviors are more predictive of meaningful work outcomes than individual differences in personality, polychronicity has been found to be significantly related to job performance, job satisfaction, and a number of other work variables. The present study investigated the relationships between polychronicity and various outcome variables, as well as the moderating effects of Selection, Optimization, and Compensation (SOC) behaviors on these relationships. The Amazon Mechanical Turk (MTurk) service was used to collect survey response data from 360 United States residents who were employed full-time, and 25 years of age or older. These surveys measured individual-level polychronicity, work-to-family conflict (WFC), organizational citizenship behaviors toward the organization (OCB-O) and individuals (OCB-I), burnout, and the reported use of SOC behaviors. Results indicated that polychronicity was not directly related to WFC or OCB-O, but was positively related to OCB-I and negatively related to burnout. Each of these relationships was also significantly moderated by reported use of SOC behaviors. Relationships between the other study variables of interest, and the similarity and disparity between results based on two different polychronicity measures are also discussed. This study expands and further elucidates the nomological network of polychronicity. The links between polychronicity and OCB-I as well as burnout highlight polychronicity as a potentially meaningful selection device that could prove particularly useful for organizations in that it is less cumbersome than measuring actual multitasking performance, and more parsimonious than larger selection batteries such as the Big Five personality dimensions. Results also highlight SOC as an important life management strategy that can function to increase beneficial and decrease detrimental effects of certain workplace outcome variables.
