ABSTRACT

This study aimed to advance insight into how employees cope with work-related boredom by developing and testing a control-process model of coping with boredom. We examined (1) the role of trait self-control in explaining whether employees cope with daily work-related boredom by engaging in distractive behaviour or job crafting, and (2) how these two coping behaviours link to changes in work-related boredom and subsequent depressed mood and job satisfaction. Data were collected among 94 participants with a general questionnaire and a 5-day diary study (with measures during the lunchbreak, n = 341, and at the end of the workday, n = 314). Multilevel path-analysis showed that trait self-control moderated the relationships of daily work-related boredom with coping, such that employees high on self-control engaged less in distractive behaviour and more in job crafting than those low on self-control. Distractive behaviour related to increased levels of subsequent work-related boredom, and – through these elevated levels – to higher depressed mood and lower job satisfaction. Job crafting was not significantly related to subsequent work-related boredom and its outcomes. Our study illustrates the importance of self-control in the boredom coping process, and underscores the ineffectiveness of distractive behaviour as a coping strategy.

摘要

本研究旨在通过开发和测试应对无聊的控制过程模型，深入了解员工如何应对与工作相关的无聊。我们研究了（1）特质自我控制在解释员工是否通过分散注意力的行为或工作塑造来应对日常工作相关的无聊方面的作用，以及（2）这两种应对行为如何与工作相关的无聊和工作相关的变化联系起来。随后的抑郁情绪和工作满意度。通过一般问卷调查和为期 5 天的日记研究，在 94 名参与者中收集了数据（在午休期间进行测量，n  = 341，在工作日结束时测量，n = 314）。多层次路径分析表明，特质自我控制调节了日常工作相关的无聊与应对的关系，因此自我控制高的员工比自我控制低的员工更少地从事分散注意力的行为，更多地参与工作塑造。分心行为与随后与工作相关的无聊程度增加有关，并且通过这些增加的程度，导致更高的抑郁情绪和更低的工作满意度。工作重塑与随后与工作相关的无聊及其结果没有显着相关。我们的研究说明了自我控制在无聊应对过程中的重要性，并强调了分心行为作为应对策略的无效性。