People engage in technology-assisted supplemental work (TASW) when they perform role-prescribed tasks at home after regular work hours with the aid of technological tools such as laptops, cell phones, BlackBerries®, and PDAs. Drawing from the technology acceptance model, we hypothesized and found that instrumentality beliefs (perceived usefulness) and organizational expectations (psychological climate) were positively related to TASW. In addition, we hypothesized and found that TASW was positively related to work-to-family conflict. However, time management (setting goals and priorities) moderated the relationship such that people who apply certain time management strategies may reduce the negative influence of TASW on their lives at home.

This field study examined the relationships among a set of feedback seeking, social cognitive, and goal setting constructs and the work performance of one hundred thirty-six sales and customer-service representatives. As hypothesized, feedback seeking and self-efficacy related to two dimensions of work performance (i.e., work quantity and work quality) through feedback-based goals. In addition, self-efficacy and feedback seeking mediated the relationship between two individual differences (viz., personal control perceptions and external feedback propensity) and both dimensions of work performance. The findings extend research on work performance by underscoring the importance of incorporating feedback into work-related improvement goals when investigating the relationship between feedback seeking and work performance. The findings also provide insight into the motivational processes underlying the relationship among personal control perceptions, external feedback propensity, and work performance. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

Extending the workday to the home into the night and weekends is nothing new

The mediating role of the critical psychological states (CPS) in the job characteristics model was examined in two studies. Using Baron and Kenny’s (1986) approach for examining mediation hypotheses, results from Study 1: (1) supported the hypothesized linkages between the core job dimensions and the CPS, and between the CPS and attitudinal outcomes; (2) provided no support for the hypothesis that all three CPS must be experienced to maximize internal work motivation; (3) supported the present authors’ hypothesis that the CPS would explain significant amounts of outcome variance beyond the core job dimensions; and (4) supported the present authors' hypothesis that the CPS are partial rather than complete mediator variables. Using causal modeling analyst and another sample, results from Study 2 provided the strongest support for a job characteristics model that allowed the core job dimensions to have direct and indirect effects on personal and work outcomes, further supporting the Study 1 finding that the CPS were partial mediator variables. The general discussion centered on the implications the present findings have for future job characteristics model research.

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