Time management behavior as a moderator for the job demand-control interaction

The interaction effects of time management, work demands, and autonomy on burnout were investigated in a survey study of 123 elementary teachers. A 3-way interaction between time management, work demands, and autonomy was hypothesized: The combination of high work demands and low autonomy was predicted to lead to burnout for teachers low in time management and not, or to a lesser extent, for those high in time management. This hypothesis is confirmed for emotional exhaustion, the most predictive dimension of teacher burnout, and partly confirmed for the personal accomplishment dimension. Generalizability to other contactual occupations is discussed

Hoe teams deadlines halen : een aanzet tot team-timemanagement

Dit artikel geeft een overzicht van de stand van zaken in de wetenschappelijk literatuur ten aanzien van de vraag hoe teams hun deadlines halen. Het beschikbare materiaal wijst erop dat teams beter in staat zijn om deadlines te halen als teamleden, naast een gemeenschappelijke visie op het team en de taak, ook overeenstemming hebben over de tijdgerelateerde aspecten van de taakuitvoering. Aandacht voor tijd bij het voorbereiden, uitvoeren, bewaken en bijsturen van teamactiviteiten blijkt van cruciaal belang voor de vorming van deze zogenaamde gedeelde cognities van tijd en het realiseren van effectieve, gesynchroniseerde actiepatronen. Deze inzichten vormen een eerste aanzet tot theorievorming over team-timemanagement en een bijbehorende onderzoeksagenda op basis waarvan dit begrip en de praktische toepassing ervan verder uitgewerkt kunnen worden

Absenteeism, turnover intention and inequity in the employment relationship

In this field study a preliminary social exchange model was proposed that related perceived inequity in the employment relationship to subsequent absenteeism and turnover intention. From an equity perspective, it was hypothesized that absenteeism and turnover intention are indirectly related to perceived inequity in the exchange relationship with the organization, mediated by feelings of resentment and poor organizational commitment. By employing covariance structure modelling, the model was tested among mental health care professionals (N = 90). The results demonstrated that the relationship between perceived inequity and turnover intention was fully mediated by poor organizational commitment, which was, in turn, partially triggered by feelings of resentment that were associated with perceived inequity. In contrast, there was a strong direct link between inequity in the employment relationship and absenteeism, not mediated by resentment and poor organizational commitment. It was concluded that absenteeism and turnover intention can both be considered to be withdrawal reactions to perceived inequity, but that the two reactions differ in their underlying dynamics. The implications of these findings were discussed

The effect of interruptions and breaks on insight and impasses : do you need a break right now?

Some time away from a problem, or incubation time, is found to be beneficial to creative problem solving. But are interruptions as equally helpful as breaks? An experiment was conducted to gain more insight into the differences between imposed and self-initiated breaks, and their effects on creativity, specifically on impasses and insights. There were three experimental conditions, (a) a continuous condition, in which participants were not allowed to switch back and forth between tasks, (b) an interruption condition, in which participants had to switch tasks at a predetermined moment, and (c) a break condition, in which participants could switch tasks at their own discretion. Results showed that taking breaks at moments chosen at one's own discretion led to solving more insight problems and reaching fewer impasses than at moments that were chosen by others. Furthermore, compared to working continuously, interruptions led to fewer impasses, but not to solving more insight problems

Cultural differences in the perception of critical interaction behaviors in global virtual teams

We investigated whether members of virtual teams from the U.S., India, and Belgium perceived the same interaction behaviors to be critical for team functioning as Dutch members from an earlier study. Thirteen virtual team workers from the U.S., 11 from India, and 11 from Belgium were interviewed by means of the Critical Incident Technique Flanagan [Flanagan, J. C. (1954). The critical incident technique. Psychological Bulletin, 51, 327–358]. The total number of critical incidents from all countries was 493 and most incidents could be grouped into the same 13 categories as those found in the original Dutch study. However, the results showed that the distributions of the critical incidents from the American, Indian, and Belgian respondents differed from those of the Dutch. Indian and Belgian respondents also mentioned a new category of critical incidents: Respectfulness. The cultural differences were interpreted by means of Hofstede's [Hofstede, G. (2001). Cultures consequences: comparing values, behaviors, institutions, and organizations across nations (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, California, U.S.: SAGE Publications] dimensions

How project groups achieve coordinated action: A model of shared cognitions on time

This chapter addresses how project teams achieve coordinated action, given the diversity in how team members may perceive and value time. Although synchronization of task activities may occur spontaneously through the nonconscious process of entrainment, some work conditions demand that team members pay greater conscious attention to time to coordinate their efforts. We propose that shared cognitions on time – the agreement among team members on the appropriate temporal approach to their collective task – will contribute to the coordination of team members’ actions, particularly in circumstances where nonconscious synchronization of action patterns is unlikely. We suggest that project teams may establish shared cognitions on time through goal setting, temporal planning, and temporal reflexivity

Team self-regulation and meeting deadlines in project teams : antecedents and effects of temporal processes and individual satisfaction

In a longitudinal study among 48 project teams, we investigated how temporal consensus (i.e., the extent to which team members have a shared understanding of the temporal aspects of their collective task) affects the ability of teams to establish coordinated action and meet deadlines. In addition, we examined temporal planning, temporal reminders, and temporal reflexivity as antecedents of temporal consensus. Our findings indicate that temporal consensus facilitates meeting deadlines through improved coordinated action. Furthermore, the development of temporal consensus is promoted by temporal planning in early project stages and by an increase in the exchange of temporal reminders in later project stages. Temporal reflexivity does not contribute to temporal consensus. Rather, our findings suggest that teams engage in reflexivity because they disagree about time

The development of a design behaviour questionnaire for multidisciplinary teams

The relationship between design behaviours and successful design task completion is studied for multidisciplinary design teams. In this research, no observational methods such as audio–visual recordings or ethnographic fieldwork were used, as often the case in design research, but a questionnaire tapping critical behaviours was developed and statistically validated in two separate studies. In addition, this study presents a comprehensive view on the behaviour of design team members. The resulting Design Behaviour Questionnaire for Teams consists of 55 items divided into three main categories (‘design creation’, ‘design planning’, and ’design cooperation’) and 12 scales