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188 Pages·2004·1.02 MB·English

Perceived Control of Time:
Time Management and Personal Effectiveness at Work

Brigitte J.C. Claessens
CIP-DATA LIBRARY TECHNISCHE UNIVERSITEIT EINDHOVEN

Claessens, Brigitte J.C.

Perceived control of time: Time management and personal effectiveness at work/
by Brigitte J.C. Claessens. -Eindhoven: Technische Universiteit Eindhoven, 2004.
–proefschrift.–

ISBN 90-386-2147-7
NUR 771

Keywords: Time management / Perceived control of time / Job Performance / Personal well-
being / Individual differences

Printed by Printservice Technische Universiteit Eindhoven
Cover design: kimmic, ‘s-Hertogenbosch / Kim Bogaerts

© 2004, Brigitte J.C. Claessens, Eindhoven

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or utilized in any form or
by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any
information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing of the author.
Perceived Control of Time:
Time Management and Personal Effectiveness at Work

PROEFSCHRIFT

ter verkrijging van de graad van doctor aan de Technische Universiteit Eindhoven,
op gezag van Rector Magnificus, prof.dr. R.A. van Santen, voor een commissie aangewezen
door het College voor Promoties in het openbaar te verdedigen op
dinsdag 2 november om 16.00 uur

door

Brigitte Johanna Catharine Claessens

geboren te Eindhoven
Dit proefschrift is goedgekeurd door de promotoren:

prof.dr. C.G. Rutte
en
prof.dr. R.A. Roe

Copromotor:
dr. W. van Eerde
Acknowledgements

When I first started work on my PhD I had mixed feelings. On the one hand I knew it would
be a very rich experience, giving my knowledge and professional skills greater breadth and
depth; on the other hand it was likely to be a project lasting four years, which at the outset
seemed like an eternity. Prior to my PhD I had been used to working on projects spanning
weeks or months, and here I was at the beginning of something that could take several years
to complete. Naturally I wondered whether I would be able to perform a project that would
take several years, would I be able to maintain my interest and stay the course? To allay some
of these fears I laid out a detailed project plan for my PhD, hoping to get some insight into
the component parts and the timing thereof. In my optimistic view, I could get everything
completed in three years. When presenting this plan to my promotors, Christel and Rob, and
co-promotor, Wendelien, it resulted in considerable amusement on their part, although they
had to admit they had rarely seen such detailed planning. Of course, I discovered for myself
during the course of my PhD that the best laid plans can always come undone, for many
reasons, unforeseen circumstances and work interruptions included. Besides my personal
experience, it was interesting to discover during the course of my studies that other people
had to deal with the same, or other, time management issues. Moreover, managing time at
work was not as easy as it would seem, and many factors, both personal and work-related,
appeared to be involved. To study time management and some of its many aspects. I certainly
needed the four years of my PhD. I can honestly say that there was never a dull moment, I
enjoyed all of it and learned a lot.

I owe much gratitude to many people, and would like to express my appreciation for all the
help I had along the way. Thanks to my promotors, Christel and Rob, and co-promotor
Wendelien for all the support, patience and humor that they provided, which was all needed
to complete my project (almost) on time. Thanks to Marcel Croon, Harry Garst, and Ad de
Jong for their statistical advice. Thanks to all the organizations that participated and provided
input for my studies, and a special thanks for Martin F. Ooms Managementbureau who
helped me recruit organizations to take part in my research. I also owe great thanks to my
HPM-colleagues, in particular Anniek van Bemmelen, Ad Kleingeld, Miranda Peeters, Floor
Beeftink, Erik van der Geer. Many thanks to Josette Gevers, who I shared an office with for
the great time we had and the assistance she gave me with many aspects of my work. The
support of my colleagues and their ability to help me put things in perspective was
invaluable, particularly during setbacks in my project. I will also always remember our
conversations in the so-called T-room. Besides providing a welcome break from work, the
conversations we had also contributed to a greater knowledge of politics, world news,
medical problems, and so on. In this respect, I also want to thank former HPM-colleagues,
Heleen van Mierlo, Lisette Kanse, and Harm van Vijfeijken for the great time we had
together. Heleen and I share great memorable moments of our attempts to start horse riding,
which I still look back on with a big smile. The optimism and love of my family and friends
and their belief in my capabilities really helped me and was a wonderful experience. They
also helped me with many practical issues such as checking my English, and taking care of
my son when I needed more time to work on my project. I owe great thanks to everyone and
to some in particular - my parents, Sacha and John, Monique and Ron, Hilde and Jan, Rogier
and Marlies, and Mariette and Jasper. Special thanks to Kim Bogaerts for her support, and
also for designing the beautiful cover of this dissertation. And last, but certainly not least, I
thank my husband, Marco, for all his love and help during the last four years, not least in
helping me complete this dissertation. He inspired me when I no longer knew what to do and
his never-ending calmness and positive attitude always managed to bring me back to reality
when I was carried away by my perseverance or hotheadedness. The last word is for Jens, my
little son, who always makes me smile, no matter what, with his sweet and happy face and
enchanting (small) talk. He is the greatest gift of all.
Brigitte Claessens
August, 2004
TABLE OF CONTENTS

Chapter 1 Introduction 1
Research goals 3
Disertation outline 5

Chapter 2 A Review of Time Management Literature 9
Selection of studies 1
Results 12
Definitions of time management 18
Research methods used 19
Time management: the state of afairs 21
Antecedents of time management 2
Efects of time management 24
Gaps in research 26
Conclusion and discusion 28

Chapter 3 Planing Behavior and Perceived Control of Time at Work 37
Planing behavior and perceived control of time 39
Job characteristics and perceived control of time 40
Models and hypotheses 42
Sample and procedure 43
Measures 45
Results 47
Mediation model of planing behavior 49
Extended mediation model of planing behavior 49
Conclusion and discusion 50

Chapter 4 Planing, Prioritizing, and Executing Daily Work Tasks 57
Planing and prioritizing daily work tasks 59
Completion of work plans 60
Job characteristics 62
Individual diferences 62
Study 1: Study design 64
Measures 65
Results 69
Planing and prioritizing tasks 71
Completing planed tasks 72
Individual differences in completing planned tasks: multilevel analysis 73
Conclusion and discusion Study 1 75
Study 2: Sample and procedure 78
Measures 79
Results 79
Planing and prioritizing 79
Workday start-up behaviors 81
Execution behaviors 82
Individual planing- and execution styles 83
Conclusion and discusion Study 2 85
Overall conclusion and discussion 85

Chapter 5 Managing Time at Work: Perceived Control of Time and Occupational
Self-Efficacy Mediating between Time Management Behaviors and Job-
Related Outcomes 93
Time management behaviors 95
Perceived control of time and ocupational self-eficacy 98
Work-related outcomes 9
Sample and procedure 102
Measures 103
Results 108
Perceived control of time versus ocupational self-eficacy 108
Mediation model 109
Conclusion and discusion 12

Chapter 6 Pacing Styles in Relation to Time Management Behaviors at Work 123
Sample and procedure 129
Measures 129
Results 132
Individual pacing styles 132