"Procrastination is not merely a curious human aberration, one of the many instances in which people failed to pursue their interest in an efficient and productive manner. It represents a dysfunction of human abilities that are important, if not essential, for coping with the myriad tasks, major or minor, that accumulate daily on our desks, in our memo books or in our minds...When we procrastinate we waste time, miss opportunities, and do not live authentic lives."(Norman Milgram 1991 in R. Dulbecco, Encyclopedia of human biology, Vol. 6, pp.149-155)
Procrastination affects the way we behave in the workplace. Procrastinators are often late, unprepared, disorganized and may even have poor interpersonal relationships with co-workers. Procrastinators spend more time on projects likely to fail (Lay 1990). They self handicap themselves , avoid diagnostic information and engage in impression management strategies(Ferrari 1990). Furthermore, they evaluate other procrastinators harshly (Ferrari 1992). Because procrastination has such severe repercussions for careers and the running of business, there has been a real interest in procrastination from a management perspective. This is reflected in the multitude of business guides and seminars which deal with procrastination. However, from a research perspective, there is relatively little data examining time management in the workplace or the efficacy of these guides. This is unfortunate in particular because time management techniques appear to be effective. Hall (1982) tested if time spent on higher priority tasks could be increased through the use of a training manual and weekly meetings with a time management consultant. Specifically, he used an intervention manual, a log record sheet, clocking, weekly self evaluation and the most important procedure of all weekly discussions. He found improvements in time management. Harris (1983) suggested that altering situational and environmental variables in the workplace could increase effective time management. This seems to be a suggestive area for practical future research.
References and Citations
Coote, E. A. (1987). Procrastination in the workplace: a study of the dispositional and situational determinants of delay behavior at work. Dissertation Abstracts International, 49, 1196.
Ferrari, J. R. (1992). Procrastination in the workplace: Attributions for failure among individuals with similar behavioral tendencies. Personality and Individual Differences, 13, 315-319.
Ferrari, J. R. (1992). Procrastination in the workplace: Attributions for failure among individuals with similar behavioral tendencies. Personality and Individual Differences, 13, 315-319.
Ferrari, J.R. (1991). A preference for a favorable public impression by procrastinators:selecting among cognitive and social tasks. Personality Individual Differences, vol.12, No. 11., pp.1233-1237.
Galue, A. J. (1990). Perceived job ambiguity, predisposition to procrastinate, work-related information and experience: an investigation of procrastination behavior at work. Dissertation Abstracts International, 52, 555.
Hall, B. L. (1982). Hursch, Daniel-E. An evaluation of the effects of a time management training program on work efficiency. Journal of Organizational Behavior Management, 3, 73- 96.
Harris, N. N., & Sutton, R. I. (1983). Task procrastination in organizations: A framework for research. Human Relations, 36, 987-995.
Lay, C. H. (1990). Working to schedule on personal projects: An assessment of person-project characteristics and trait procrastination. Journal of Social Behavior and Personality, 5, 91-103.
Milgram, N. (1988). Procrastination in daily living. Psychological Reports, 63, 752-754.
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