Intensifying and protective? – how organizational culture shapes the effect of work scheduling autonomy on the relationship between time pressure and self-endangering work behaviours

ABSTRACT

A resource perspective suggests a protective direct effect of work scheduling autonomy (WSA) on self-endangering work behaviours (working harder, working longer). However, from a social exchange perspective deriving benefit from WSA could lead to the obligation to give something back when it is needed (e.g., high time pressure) and expected (e.g., work-home culture of the company). Despite the direct protective effect, we thus suggest that WSA acts as a moderator that, under certain organizational culture conditions, facilitates the positive relationship between periods of high time pressure and self-endangering work behaviours. In a five-weeks weekly diary study (N = 277) we examined whether WSA can act as a moderator creating an interactional pattern with time pressure, a hindering work-home culture or psychological ownership, in which the genuine protective effect of WSA can be undermined. The results of the multilevel analysis showed a negative direct relationship between WSA (within-persons) and working harder (protective main effect). However, moderation analysis showed that WSA (between-persons) could intensify the positive relationship between time pressure and working harder for employees working within a hindering work-home culture. We observed no such interactive pattern with psychological ownership, but report a positive relationship between psychological ownership and self-endangering work behaviours.

KEYWORDS:

• Autonomy paradox
• social exchange theory
• conservation of resources theory
• work intensity
• work home culture

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Data availability statement

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author, [TVH], upon reasonable request.

Supplementary material

Supplemental data for this article can be accessed online at https://doi.org/10.1080/1359432X.2024.2326620.