Profiles in Time: Understanding the Nature and Outcomes of Profiles of Temporal Focus

Individuals chronically vary in the extent to which they think about the past, present, and future. This individual difference-temporal focus-relates to a variety of work and life outcomes including affective well-being, job performance, and career success. Although it has been proposed that people...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of applied psychology 2022-09, Vol.107 (9), p.1640-1654
Main Authors: Shipp, Abbie J., Gabriel, Allison S., Lambert, Lisa Schurer
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Absenteeism
Colleges
Employee Turnover
Family Work Relationship
Female
Human
Individual Differences
Intention
Job performance
Job satisfaction
Lateness
Male
Time Perspective
Well Being
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Summary:Individuals chronically vary in the extent to which they think about the past, present, and future. This individual difference-temporal focus-relates to a variety of work and life outcomes including affective well-being, job performance, and career success. Although it has been proposed that people can simultaneously focus on the past, present, and future (Lewin, 1943), tests of this idea within the organizational sciences remain scarce, with scholars instead focusing on the independent predictions of each aspect of temporal focus. As such, contradictory findings exist regarding the benefits of each dimension. In an effort to advance the discussion of temporal focus in the organizational literature, we present two studies that utilize latent profile analysis (LPA) to examine how people think about time holistically, uncovering initial profiles of past, present, and future temporal focus (Study 1) and demonstrating their effect on important work outcomes related to affect (e.g., job satisfaction, affective commitment) and withdrawal at work (e.g., turnover intentions, absenteeism, lateness; Study 2). Combined, our findings offer theoretical and practical implications that clarify conclusions about temporal focus in organizations and suggest directions for future work.
ISSN:0021-9010
1939-1854
DOI:10.1037/apl0000950