The curvilinear relationship between work pressure and momentary task performance: the role of state and trait core self-evaluations

Abstract

Whereas several studies have demonstrated that core self-evaluations (CSE)–or one’s appraisals about one’s own self-worth, capabilities, and competences–relate to job outcomes, less is known about the mechanisms underlying these relationships. In the present study, we address this issue by examining the role of within- and between-person variation in CSE in the relationship between work pressure and task performance. We hypothesized that (a) work pressure relates to task performance in a curvilinear way, (b) state CSE mediates the curvilinear relationship between work pressure and task performance, and (c) the relationship between work pressure and state CSE is moderated by trait CSE. Our hypotheses were tested via a 10-day daily diary study with 55 employees in which trait CSE was measured at baseline, while work pressure, task performance, and state CSE were assessed on a daily basis. Bayesian multilevel path analysis showed that work pressure affects task performance via state CSE, with state CSE increasing as long as the employee feels that (s)he is able to handle the work pressure, while it decreases when the level of work pressure exceeds the employees’ coping abilities. Moreover, we found that for people low on trait CSE, the depleting effect of work pressure via state CSE happens for low levels of work pressure, while for people high in trait CSE the depleting effect is located at high levels of work pressure. Together, our findings suggest that the impact of work pressure on task performance is driven by a complex interplay of between- and within-person differences in CSE.

Curvilinear Moderation—A More Complete Examination of Moderation Effects in Behavioral Sciences

“…Despite the importance of curvilinear relationship, it comes as some surprise that curvilinear moderation-a statistical model that identifies differences in the strength and direction of curvilinearity between X and Y across the levels of M-is neither commonly used by researchers nor has it received the attention in the literature that it deserves. As noted in Hofmans et al [13], the inverted U shape between work pressure and performance may differ across different personality traits (e.g., high versus low CSE). Afshar et al [20] further found that people with maladaptive personality traits (e.g., neuroticism) tend to form a more flattened, inverted U-shape relationship between stress and performance, whereas people with adaptive personality traits (e.g., openness) tend to form the usual inverted U shape between stress and performance as stated in the Yerkets-Dodson Law.…”

“…The rationale is that researchers should focus on the critical M values (e.g., personality trait) that substantially and significantly change the (simple) slope values regressing Y (e.g., performance) on X (e.g., work pressure), which is important for theory and model testing in behavioral sciences. For example, Hofmans et al [13] stated that the existing literature often focused on linear moderation, and hence, they examined if there exists any curvilinear relationship between work pressure and momentary task performance, and how this relationship can be moderated by one's personality trait (e.g., core self-evaluations [CSE], i.e., one's appraisals about self-worth, capabilities, and competency). They found that people with a high level of CSE are less affected by work pressure (i.e., a more flattened, inverted U shape between pressure and performance) than people with a low level of CSE (i.e., a more leptokurtic, inverted U shape between pressure and performance).…”

Breaking Psychological Contracts with the Burden of Workload: A Weekly Study of Job Resources as Moderators

“…Thus, when job demands increase, they become negative, and may lead to work intensification, a process linked to exhaustion and burnout (Granter, McCann, & Boyle, ; Paškvan et al, ). In line with this reasoning, the research of Hofmans et al () and Paškvan and colleagues (2016) indeed showed that when job demands become too high, workers are likely to perceive this as too challenging and essentially hindering their performance. We therefore expect that high job demands will be related to higher susceptibility of breach and violation over time.…”

Psychological Detachment Mediating the Daily Relationship between Workload and Marital Satisfaction

“…Scholars already found support for a curvilinear relationship between workload and other outcome variables, such as physical health (i.e., cross-sectional study; Karanika-Murray et al, 2009) and task performance (i.e., diary study; Hofmans et al, 2015). In line with the Yerkes-Dodson law (Yerkes and Dodson, 1908) and activation theory (Gardner, 1986; Gardner and Cummings, 1988), scholars found that high, low and moderate levels of workload were in decreasing order related to negative health outcomes (Shultz et al, 2010).…”