Mindful multitasking: Disentangling the effect of polychronicity on work–home conflict and life satisfaction

ABSTRACT

This study seeks to disentangle the effect of polychronicity on work–home conflict, home–work conflict, and life satisfaction, by evaluating mindfulness as a moderator. We propose that mindfulness moderates the relationship between polychronicity and work–home and home–work conflict such that the relationship will be negative when mindfulness is high and positive when mindfulness is low. Additionally, we propose that mindfulness moderates the relationship between polychronicity and life satisfaction such that the relationship will be positive when mindfulness is high and negative when mindfulness is low. A total of 138 academics throughout India completed measures of polychronicity, mindfulness, life satisfaction, and work-to-home and home-to-work conflict scales. The moderation findings illustrate that higher levels of mindfulness enhance the effects of polychronicity.

KEYWORDS:

• Home–work conflict
• life satisfaction
• mindfulness
• polychronicity
• work–home conflict

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Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Data availability statement

The data described in this article are openly available in the Open Science Framework at http://hdl.handle.net/2374.MIA/6254

Open Scholarship

This article has earned the Center for Open science badges for Open Data and Open Materials through Open Practices Disclosure. The data and materials are openly accessible at http://hdl.handle.net/2374.MIA/6254

Notes

1. Data and procedures for this study are available at: http://hdl.handle.net/2374.MIA/6254.

2. Given assumptions of a moderate anticipated effect size (i.e., .15), .80 statistical power, .05 probability level, and five predictors (polychronicity, mindfulness, and three covariates), an a priori power analyses suggested obtaining a minimum of 91 cases.

3. Reported Cronbach alphas are specific to this study.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Jared Weintraub

Jared Weintraub, M.A. is a Doctoral Candidate studying Applied Organizational Psychology at Hofstra University. He earned his M.A. in Industrial and Organizational Psychology from the Chicago School of Professional Psychology's Washington, D.C. campus, and his B.A. in Psychology from the University of Delaware. He is also an independent consultant whose research focuses on practical applications of time-management, mindfulness, and mental states which affect employee well-being and productivity.

Murugan Pattusamy

Murugan Pattusamy, Ph.D. is an Assistant Professor of Management in the School of Management at the University of Hyderabad. Dr. Pattusamy earned his Ph.D. in Management at the Department of Management Studies at Anna University, Chennai, India. His research interests are related to work-family balance, work engagement, students’ academic performance, and individual well-being. He has published several papers in Thomson Reuter’s impact factor journal list.

Scott B. Dust

Scott B. Dust, Ph.D. is an Assistant Professor of Management in the Farmer School of Business at Miami University. Dr. Dust earned his Ph.D. in Management/Organizational Behavior at the LeBow College of Business, Drexel University and his M.B.A and B.S., from the Kelley School of Business, Indiana University. His research investigates how metacognitive capacities (e.g., mindfulness, emotional intelligence, self-awareness) affect workplace effectiveness and well-being. His work has appeared in the Journal of Applied Psychology, Journal of Organizational Behavior, Leadership Quarterly, and Human Relations