Date of Award

12-2020

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Department

Psychology

First Advisor

Patrick Converse

Second Advisor

Xinxuan Che

Third Advisor

Ted Petersen

Fourth Advisor

Lisa Steelman

Abstract

Workplace interruptions are an increasingly prominent and potentially consequential issue. Most studies have found that interruptions can have serious negative consequences for both job performance and affective well-being. However, very little research has examined the specific effects of internal and external interruptions. In addition, there has been limited research on factors that may mitigate the effects of interruptions. This study examined these issues, focusing on (a) the effects of internal and external interruptions on both job performance and affective well-being as well as (b) polychronicity, contingent planning, and task-switching ability as moderators of these relationships. The study involved two major components: assessment of these individual differences that may act as moderators and a daily diary approach to examine interruptions, job performance, and affect over a 10-day period. The data were analyzed using multilevel modeling in R. Both internal and external interruptions were found to be negatively related to job performance and affective well-being. Polychronicity, contingent planning, and task-switching ability were not found to be significant moderators of the Level 1 relationships. This study supports previous research on the negative effects of interruptions; however, other interruption-resistant traits, strategies, and abilities need to be explored.

Download

Share

COinS