Do Unnecessary Tasks Impair Performance Because They Harm Living a Calling? Testing a Mediation in a Three-Wave Study

Saija Mauno, Jaana Minkkinen, Akihito Shimazu

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

5 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

This three-wave study explored whether living a calling (at work) mediated the relation between unnecessary tasks (time wasting work tasks) and socio-contextual performance at work (cynicism, organizational citizenship behavior). Participants were 518 Finnish white- and blue-collar employees, who were followed up in 2018, 2019, and 2020. The results of structural equation modeling showed that unnecessary tasks at Time 1 related negatively to living a calling at Time 2, which, in turn, related to cynicism and organizational citizenship behavior at T3. Thus, living a calling mediated the relation between unnecessary tasks and the outcomes. We found no evidence for the moderator role of living a calling between unnecessary tasks and the outcomes. Unnecessary tasks should be minimized in organizations to promote living a calling and subsequent positive outcomes predicted by calling.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)94-109
Number of pages16
JournalJournal of Career Assessment
Volume30
Issue number1
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2022 Feb

Keywords

  • cynicism
  • follow-up study
  • living a calling
  • organizational citizenship behavior
  • unnecessary tasks

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Applied Psychology
  • Psychology(all)
  • Organizational Behavior and Human Resource Management

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