Uhlig Lars, Korunka Christian, Prem Roman, Kubicek Bettina
Institute of Psychology University of Graz Graz Austria.
Faculty of Psychology University of Vienna Vienna Austria.
Appl Psychol. 2023 Apr;72(2):625-646. doi: 10.1111/apps.12392. Epub 2022 May 10.
Cognitive demands of flexible work are the specific cognitive demands of planning of working times, planning of working places, structuring of work tasks and coordinating with others that arise from flexible work organisation. Although these demands have become increasingly widespread, their consequences are not well understood. We propose that cognitive demands of flexible work are challenge stressors that can benefit employees, by adding to their cognitive flexibility and work engagement, but also impair employees by causing fatigue. Hypotheses were tested using a two-wave study design in a sample that recently switched to a more flexible work organisation ( = 279). Data were analysed using structural equation modelling. We found that planning of working times and planning of working places were related to increases in cognitive flexibility, and coordinating with others was related to increases in work engagement. No significant relations with fatigue were found. Thus, the results suggest that cognitive demands of flexible work helped employees to personally develop and feel motivated at work. However, effects on work engagement were rather small. Future research should control potential confounding variables more thoroughly and examine effects on short-term strain outcomes.
灵活工作的认知需求是指因灵活的工作组织而产生的工作时间规划、工作地点规划、工作任务安排以及与他人协调等方面的特定认知需求。尽管这些需求日益普遍，但其影响尚未得到充分理解。我们认为，灵活工作的认知需求是挑战性压力源，既能通过增强员工的认知灵活性和工作投入度使员工受益，也会因导致疲劳而损害员工。我们采用两波研究设计，在一个近期转向更灵活工作组织的样本（n = 279）中对假设进行了检验。使用结构方程模型对数据进行了分析。我们发现，工作时间规划和工作地点规划与认知灵活性的提高相关，与他人协调与工作投入度的提高相关。未发现与疲劳有显著关系。因此，结果表明灵活工作的认知需求有助于员工个人发展并在工作中感到有动力。然而，对工作投入度的影响相当小。未来的研究应更全面地控制潜在的混杂变量，并研究对短期压力结果的影响。
