Workplace intrusions and employee strain: the interactive effects of extraversion and emotional stability

ABSTRACT

Background/objectives: Intrusions are a type of workplace interruption defined as unexpected interpersonal contact that disrupts workflow. Drawing from the Job Demands-Resources model of work stress, we examined how two personal resources – extraversion and emotional stability – influence relations among intrusions and strain outcomes.

Design/methodology: Self-reported, online questionnaire data were collected from two samples; 323 faculty and staff from a university (sample 1) and 574 full-time employees recruited from an online crowdsourcing forum (sample 2).

Results: In sample 1 extraversion was positively related to intrusions, whereas in sample 2, extraversion and emotional stability were negatively related to intrusions. There were no interactive effects of personality on relations among intrusions and strain outcomes in sample 1. In sample 2, low emotional stability strengthened relations among intrusions and work tension. Additionally, intrusions were negatively associated with stress for individuals high on emotional stability. Finally, introverts experienced less stress in response to intrusions.

Conclusion: Taking a person-situation interactionist approach, we examined personal resources that may mitigate interruption-related strain. Our findings suggest that for employees high in emotional stability, interruptions may be both less detrimental and, in some cases, beneficial. This study has practical implications for the structuring of work environments to mitigate strain and maximize person-environment fit.

KEYWORDS:

• Interruptions
• personality
• extraversion
• emotional stability
• work stress

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to acknowledge Stacy Wilkes for her feedback on earlier versions of this project.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Ethical approval

All procedures were in accordance with the ethical standards of Northern Illinois University’s Institutional Review Board.

ORCID

Arielle P. Rogers http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2801-145X

Larissa K. Barber http://orcid.org/0000-0002-6761-7801

Additional information

Funding

This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.