My job characteristics make me procrastinate or not: An emotional perspective

Abstract

Workplace procrastination is a prevalent phenomenon that significantly impacts employee productivity and organizational competitiveness. Drawing on cognitive–motivational–relational theory, this study adopts an emotional perspective to investigate how and when job characteristics (i.e. hindrance job demands, challenge job demands and job resources) impact employees' workplace procrastination in distinct ways. We suggest that both hindrance and challenge demands may evoke fear of tasks, eliciting an action tendency of escape and avoidance, thus indirectly leading to procrastination. Notably, challenge demands may exhibit a dual effect by simultaneously enhancing interest in tasks with an action tendency of exploration, thus negatively and indirectly influencing procrastination. Job resources may generate joy about tasks, fostering an action tendency of free activation, thereby indirectly reducing procrastination. We further investigate how psychological capital, which largely shapes employees' appraisal of job characteristics, may alter the above relationships. We conducted two studies to examine our hypotheses and delve into the potential reversed relationships between job characteristics and procrastination. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.