Procrastination as a Predictor of Job Performance

It is generally accepted that everyone puts off or delays doing tasks to some extent however, little is known about how different styles affect job performance. Individual differences in goal orientation tendency to set goals and objectives, conscientiousness thoroughness and carefulness in performing a task, autonomy freedom, independence, and discretion in scheduling work, and temperament manner of thinking, behaving, and reacting may have an influence on how efficiently and effectively people prioritize their tasks or avoid tasks, and thus have an effect on job performance. This study examined the possible importance of procrastination in the workplace, and its effect on job performance. A measure of work-related procrastination was designed and a model was developed that proposed a linkage between individual differences and job performance. Two hypotheses were developed to test the implications of the model. The first hypothesis was supported - goal orientation, conscientiousness, autonomy, and temperament were significant predictors of work procrastination task-avoidant behavior in this study. The second hypothesis was not supported - results of analyses showed that procrastination was not a predictor of job performance in this study.