Aligning Task Control With Desire for Control: Implications for Performance

Abstract

The current study examined whether matches between task control and participants' desire for control over their environment lead to better task performance than mismatches. Work control and desire for control were manipulated, and participants engaged in timed tasks. As predicted, performance was higher in cases of match, even when task control and desire for control were low. Task control and desire for control may predict work performance in combination, highlighting the importance of person–environment fit theory for both selection and work design. By manipulating desire for control, our research also explores the potentially state-dependent quality of this individual difference variable.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Alex Ramsey is now at Brown School of Social Work, Washington University in St. Louis.

Notes

Note. Desire for control (DFC) (0 = low DFC; 1 = high DFC); task control (0 = low control; 1 = high control). GPA = grade point average.