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• Editorial | Harvard Business Review (website) | April 4, 2019

  Why We Don't Ask for More Time on Deadlines (But Probably Should)

  Jaewon Yoon, A.V. Whillans and Grant Donnelly

  Deadlines are one of the biggest sources of stress in the workplace. Yet, many are flexible: Your manager might ask you to submit a proposal for a long-term project by Friday, but not plan to look at it until Tuesday. Could asking for more time (when we need it) be a simple way to avoid feeling panicked and overwhelmed? While it’s common to believe that pushing back a deadline might reflect poorly on us and be seen as unprofessional, we know relatively little from research about the actual consequences of asking for more time. To better understand this, we conducted 10 experiments and a survey with nearly 10,000 employees and managers in the United States. We found that, across occupations, asking for more time to work on an assignment was, on average, perceived positively by managers—and it reduced employees’ stress levels and improved their performance. In one survey—of 191 employees—we found that 95% of those who asked their manager for a deadline extension received one.

  Keywords: time; stress; Employees; Time Management; Perception; Performance; Happiness;

  Citation:

  Yoon, Jaewon, A.V. Whillans, and Grant Donnelly. "Why We Don't Ask for More Time on Deadlines (But Probably Should)." Harvard Business Review (website) (April 4, 2019).  View Details

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• Article | Current Opinion in Psychology

  Making Seconds Count: When Valuing Time Promotes Subjective Well-being

  A.V. Whillans and Alice Lee-Yoon

  Time is a finite and precious resource, and the way that we value our time can critically shape happiness. In this article, we present a conceptual framework to explain when valuing time can enhance vs. undermine well-being. Specifically, we review the emotional benefits of valuing time more than money and discuss the emotional costs of valuing time like money. Lastly, we suggest directions for future research examining the causes and consequences of the value that people place on their time.

  Keywords: time; Happiness; Welfare or Wellbeing; Money; Value;

  Citation:

  Whillans, A.V., and Alice Lee-Yoon. "Making Seconds Count: When Valuing Time Promotes Subjective Well-being." Current Opinion in Psychology 26 (April 2019): 54–57.  View Details

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• Article | Compensation & Benefits Review | April, 2019

  The Power of Workplace Rewards: Using Self-Determination Theory to Understand Why Reward Satisfaction Matters for Workers Around the World

  Anais Thibault Landry and A.V. Whillans

  How can workplace rewards promote employee well-being and engagement? To answer these questions, we utilized self-determination theory to examine whether reward satisfaction predicted employee well-being, job satisfaction, intrinsic motivation and affective commitment, as well as valuable organizational outcomes, such as workplace contribution and loyalty. Specifically, we investigated the role of three universal psychological needs—autonomy, competence and relatedness—in explaining whether and why reward satisfaction matters for employees’ well-being. We tested our model in a large, cross-sectional study with full-time employees working for multinational corporations in six main world regions: Asia, Europe, India, Latin America, North America and Oceania (N = 5,852). Consistent with our theorizing, we found cross-cultural evidence that reward satisfaction promoted greater employee functioning through psychological need satisfaction, contributing to better organizational outcomes. Critically, our results were consistent regardless of geographic location. As such, this study provides some of the strongest evidence to date for the power of understanding psychological mechanisms in the workplace: Regardless of the actual rewards that employees received, how workplace rewards made employees feel significantly predicted their optimal functioning.

  Keywords: workplace; rewards; motivation;

  Citation:

  Landry, Anais Thibault, and A.V. Whillans. "The Power of Workplace Rewards: Using Self-Determination Theory to Understand Why Reward Satisfaction Matters for Workers Around the World." Compensation & Benefits Review (April, 2019).  View Details

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