Boredom at Work
Plus: The Bamboo Ceiling, Small Talk, and WFH Part 3,973
Our labour preserves us from three great evils—weariness, vice, and want. - Voltaire
What I-O Folks Are Reading
Selections from published articles, articles in press, and other academic resources.
Confirmed: Idle Hands Are—In Fact—the Devil’s Workshop
Idle time, when you can’t get your work done, is a little like being stuck in a waiting room: you get bored, your mood sours, and you imagine yourself being anywhere else in the universe.
But is there an upside to idle time? We know, for example, that when employees can’t carry out their roles, they engage in extra-role behaviors. In other words, since they can’t do their jobs, they do stuff that’s not their jobs.
Surely, all those extra-role behaviors can’t be negative, can they? In addition to stealing printer paper, gossiping, and online shopping, they must also occasionally work on special projects, lend a hand to a co-worker, or…something positive, right?
Not so much, it seems.
I do wonder about mediators, moderators, and boundary conditions on this one. In my current role, being prevented from working due to circumstances beyond my control is an unmitigated frustration. When I worked in restaurants, however, the afternoon “dead time” was the unquestioned highlight of the entire shift for the whole team.
Is it Bad Because it is Boring? Effects of Idle Time on Employee Outcomes. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology.
Paternity Leave is the Henny Youngman of I-O Psych
I gotta tell ya folks, this paternity leave stuff is unpopular. Are you kidding me? Paternity leave is so unpopular, almost no men study it! [Fact]. Paternity leave is so unpopular that research on the topic is messier than a gas station bathroom. Take my organizing framework for future research, please!
Paternity Leave: A Systematic Review and Directions for Research. Human Resource Management Review.
Creativity & The Bamboo Ceiling
East Asians are underrepresented in senior leadership roles in the U.S. Why? One reason may be that we stereotype East Asians as lacking in creativity.
A Creativity Stereotype Perspective on the Bamboo Ceiling: Low Perceived Creativity Explains the Underrepresentation of East Asian Leaders in the United States. Journal of Applied Psychology.
What Everyone Else is Reading
Articles, books, and resources from the popular business press.
Why Can’t Employees Just Shut Up About the Thing They Want Most?
Yet many tech companies — such as Amazon, IBM, and even Zoom — have announced top-down RTO mandates of several days per week recently. Such mandates are surprising, given recent findings on the importance of flexibility for innovation. Thus, even though tech leads the pack in flexibility, given the particular importance of innovation for tech, leaders in this sector need to seriously reconsider their increasingly inflexible policies.
This Just In: Culture is Hard
When I launched my company 11 years ago, I believed I was laying the groundwork for an exemplary company culture. I set up core values, crafted a mission statement, and established workplace policies. Despite my efforts, the culture I envisioned fell flat when it came to getting buy-in and excitement from my team.
However, a turning point for me came when I asked myself an unorthodox question: "Would I want to grab a beer with my business?" While this question may seem light-hearted, it provided a lens through which to assess the culture I wanted to create.
Crafting Culture: A New Approach for Your Company. Inc.
Learning Small Talk
Even if you don’t think you’re a natural (or you hate it), anyone can become proficient at this important art using the right tactics and behaviors, says Matt Abrahams, author of "Think Faster, Talk Smarter: How to Speak Successfully When You're Put on the Spot."
Get Good at Small Talk [Video]. Harvard Business Review.
Amazon Best Sellers: Business & Money
Links lead to short summaries.
Elon Musk, Walter Isaacson
Atomic Habits, James Clear
Astor, Anderson Cooper & Katherine Howe
Rich Dad, Poor Dad, Robert T. Kiyosaki
Becoming Coachable, Scott Osman, Jacquelyn Lane, & Marshall Goldsmith
Construct of the Week
A psychological construct relevant to work psychology.
Idle time: When employees are prevented from carrying out work tasks due to circumstances beyond their control.
The Research Quiz
There's a large body of research showing that, on average, women negotiators obtain worse outcomes compared to their male counterparts. Why? Men are given more beneficial terms and offers than women.
Do lesbians suffer from the same disadvantage as their straight counterparts? Researchers conducted five experimental and audit studies with graduate students in the U.S. and India, people selling items on Craigslist, and street vendors in India. What do you think they found?
Which group, on average, obtained better negotiation outcomes?