Associative Impact of Personality Orientation and Levels of Stress on Procrastination in Middle-level Managers

Abstract

To procrastinate is to ‘voluntarily delay an intended course of action despite expecting to be worse off for the delay’ (Steel, 2007, Psychological Bulletin 133(1), 65). This behaviour, despite its cost, is common in workplaces and other life domains. By understanding why it occurs and how to prevent it, managers can help optimise the performance and productivity of employees. Hence, this research article is an effort to add a little to the sparse knowledge base in this field. It is also an effort to throw light on the relationship of Levenson’s multidimensions of the locus of control (LOC) and stress on the procrastination of employees, which have not been explored earlier. Two categories of variable are tested as the predictors of procrastination: various dimensions of LOC and occupational stress. Research results confirm that occupational stress along with LOC dimension affects the procrastinating behaviour of the employees. One of the major findings to emerge from the current research is that managers with powerful others as their LOC dimensions were least procrastinating. This contradicts the previous research results that external factors procrastinate more than internal ones.