Work redesign in development perspective
An empirical study of multitasking among civil servants in Malawi
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 11959025 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Cheng Chen (0000-0002-3583-9370, Department of Public Administration, College of Public Administration Huazhong University of Science & Technology Wuhan China), Bright Thokozani Chipao (Department of Public Administration, College of Public Administration Huazhong University of Science & Technology Wuhan China), Qing Miao (0000-0002-9738-0374, Academy of Social Governance, Center of Social Welfare and Governance, Zhejiang Insitution of Talent Development Zhejiang University Hangzhou China, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2022 |
| Volume | 82 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 210-227 |
| Publication date | 2022-11-16 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Australian Journal of Public Administration (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0313-6647 • E-ISSN: 1467-8500 |
| Publisher | Wiley (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1111/1467-8500.12566 |
| OpenAlex | W4309621465 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 47 |
Civil servants in many developing countries are increasingly faced with multitask situations at work to improve the efficiency of public sectors. Although multitasking might boost employee productivity, its potentially negative impact on other areas of employees’ lives has been ignored. Drawing upon the conservation of resources theory, our research aims to investigate whether, how, and when multitasking at work decreases the subjective well‐being of employees in the public sector. Using a two‐wave survey of 164 civil servants in Malawi, our findings showed that multitasking at work was positively related to employees’ negative affect and negatively related to their satisfaction with life and positive affect through emotional exhaustion. Moreover, the study found that polychronicity, which refers to one's preference to handle more than one task at the same time, moderated the relationship between multitasking and emotional exhaustion, such that the association described above was weaker when an employee's polychronicity was higher. Finally, the indirect impact of multitasking on positive affect through emotional exhaustion was also moderated by polychronicity. These findings provide some theoretical and managerial implications for public sector in developing countries on how to focus on employee well‐being while using multitasking work design
Affect (linguistics · Burnout · Civil servants · Cognitive psychology · Developing country · Economic growth · Economics · Emotional exhaustion · Human multitasking · Job satisfaction · Perspective (graphical · Political science · Productivity · Computer Science · Job Satisfaction and Organizational Behavior · Mind wandering and attention · Psychology · Social Psychology · Work-Family Balance Challenges
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| Citations per year | 1 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2025 - 2025 (1) |
| Highly cited | No |