Subjects: Psychology >> Management Psychology submitted time 2024-04-08
Abstract： In recent years, employees how to effectively role transition and improve work efficiency have received widespread attention from managers and researchers. Previous research mainly focused on state transition activities during commuting time from the perspective of role transition theory, and researchers found that these activities do help employees transition roles and improve work efficiency, providing useful guidance for management practices. However, a few studies have focused on state transition activities in the workplace, which are widespread and have a significant impact on employees’ daily work efficiency, but existing research knows little about these activities. To fill these research gaps, we integrate role transition theory and resource conservation theory to explore the mechanisms and boundary conditions of workplace state transition activities and attempt to explore how employees can achieve higher work efficiency by engaging in workplace state transition activities./t/nWe conducted a field study of a technology-based company in southern China using experience sampling methods. We collected data using the Positive and Negative Affect Scale, Work engagement Scale, and Work Goal Progress Scale. Firstly, we collected control variables (gender, age, organizational tenure, job category) on the weekend, while asking participants to report on the activities they engaged in during the time between arriving at the office and starting work. We referred to these activities as state transition activities. Secondly, during a two-week daily survey period, participants evaluated their positive and negative emotions at 7:30 a.m., their morning state transition activities, types of state transition activities, and work engagement at 12:30 p.m., their afternoon state transition activities, types of state transition activities, work engagement, work goal progress, and task completion for the whole day at 6:00 p.m. The final sample included 603 usable observations collected from 70 employees. To test the proposed hypotheses, we conducted two-level path-analyses using Mplus 7.0 and performed a Monte Carlo simulation procedure using R software./t/nGiven that individual-level data nested within individuals, we used a multilevel linear model to test our hypotheses. As indirect effect tests involve multiple variables, we used the block variable method to bundle variables and conducted 20,000 Monte Carlo simulations to generate a 95% Monte Carlo confidence interval in R3.5. Based on the results, our research presents three conclusions: (1) At the individual level, the relationship between morning and afternoon work state transition activities time and morning and afternoon work engagement was inverted U-shaped. (2) The effect of work state transition activity on work engagement depended on activities time and activities habituality: when the habituality of role transition activities was high, there was an inverted U-shaped relationship between employees’ morning role transition activities time and job engagement. When the habituality of role transition activities was low, there was an inverted U-shaped relationship between employees’ afternoon role transition activities time and job engagement. (3) The indirect effect of work state transition activities on the work goal progress by influencing work engagement was partly moderated by the chronotype of employees: Morning chronotype employee had a positive impact on the work goal progress through morning work engagement; No matter what kind of employees’ chronotype, afternoon work state transition activities can positively affect the work goal progress through afternoon work engagement./t/nThe current study has several theoretical contributions. First, this study extends the existing literature on state transition activities by exploring a new context of role transitions, analyzing the time spent on state transition activities before entering work and proposing an inverted U-shaped relationship between the time spent on these activities and subsequent work engagement. Second, this study enriches the understanding of the underlying mechanisms of state transition activities. Previous literature mainly explored how employees could better complete role transitions from a role perspective. This study analyzes from a resource perspective, considering both resource transfer and depletion during the activities. By analyzing the time and psychological resources in these activity processes, this study proposes that the habituality and timing of state transition activities jointly affect subsequent work engagement. Habituality refers to the degree to which employees’ state transition activities are habitual behaviors that are triggered and repeated in work situations. Third, previous research has focused on describing the process of employees transitioning from family roles to work roles. However, lunch break is an important part of the workday, and transitioning from non-work state to work state is also required when entering work in the afternoon. To fully describe the role transition process throughout the day, this study analyzes morning and afternoon state transition activities separately, explores how morning and afternoon state transition activities affect morning and afternoon work engagement, and thus impact work efficiency for the day.
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